Car Lunch A Go Go

My mom texted me this morning at work to say she could pick up some Cafe Rio for me and meet at school for a car lunch.  This was a nice surprise both for the company and the good food. Randy had packed a lunch for me this morning so I ended up giving it to a boy who often comes into the office in need of food. I sometimes give him a small snack (from home) so he was surprised and happy to get an entire lunch today. His situation makes me sad, and giving him that lunch today felt heart-burstingly good (I just don't know what to do about all the future days though).

My mom brought her own plate of grilled chicken, brown rice and green beans for lunch, while I had a Cafe Rio kids meal ($3.50 and delightful) of a pork quesadilla, chips and salsa and beans.  

This is the snowy mess I had to trudge through to get to her car! The sidewalk was clear but the street is buried from all the plows. I had to step in the footprints that were already there and hope for the best...ugh!

Sunday Thoughts

I feel blessed. I think about my blessings all the time, but especially at the end of the day as I say my personal prayer and mentally review my day. With every inconvenient, painful, frustrating, discouraging experience there are good things to accompany them. I have seen this over and over again this week as Landon has spent the week on the couch recovering from his surgery. We have received 2 fantastic dinners, lots of visits and phone calls, kind words, a card in the mail and so on. It has really been heart-warming and humbling.

Landon's friend Russell brought over this funny note and treats.

The Rasbands brought donut holes (a true weakness of mine) and cookies! 

James, Jackson and Dallin showed up at 7:15am Tuesday morning with a half dozen Krispy Kreme donuts! They had gone to the Provo Temple at 5:00am and stopped for donuts and to share with Landon (he usually goes to the temple with them on Tuesdays) on the way home. So nice!

Amie brought Landon and I lunch on Tuesday and also brought Landon a BYU t-shirt and a box of white cheddar Cheez-Its (both his favorite things).

Spencer, Jackson and Dallin stopped by to check on Landon on Friday after school.

Sister Bangerter brought Landon (and us) this huge tray of her delicious, homemade rolls yesterday!

 

The Wilcox family brought us a huge dish (this photo really doesn't show how big it is) of homemade macaroni and cheese, ham slices, bread, green beans and rootbeer float fixings! This meal will feed us for days! When Tracy called on Friday to offer to bring us dinner she said she wanted to wait until the dust settled a bit because it's easy to feel forgotten after that...I cried.

**Thoughts??**

Comment Window Tidbit: It was so weird to only be 12 minutes early for church today and to be able to easily get a soft seat! It feels like we lost half our ward to the split. Oh the pain!

There's a Teenager in the House!

Today is Landon's 13th birthday!

We paid a small fortune but had a great birthday breakfast at IHOP.

He was pleased with his birthday sundae.

Our early morning self-portrait in the IHOP parking lot.

He wanted to do a jumping picture.

Sometimes it's fun to pose for a shot through your birthday balloons.

 

We got him a bouquet of 13 balloons, a new BYU t-shirt (that's practically all he wears), a super soft blanket and some mini donuts. His friend party is on Friday night and his family party is on Saturday evening. He is saving his birthday money to buy a wii game system so we'll be going in on that with the rest of the family.

13 Things I Love About Landon

1. He is a good boy through and through.
2. He is always willing to do what is asked of him.
3. He has a great sense of humor.
4. He is an excellent older brother.
5. He takes his school work seriously.
6. He is spiritual.
7. He is a good example to us as his parents.
8. He is better than even the best parts of Randy and I.
9. He is making the most of his perfect body and metabolism by being super active.
10. He's got a good heart.
11. He is very thoughtful.
12. He is a good friend to everyone.
13. He wants to do what is right. His motto for the past year (which he repeats to us multiple times a day) is "Always, always tell the truth, be nice and be awesome, follow all the commandments I will forever and I mean it, I love you and I'll let my light shine forever." (I really have to record him saying this because it is such a part of him.)

I know I've said it before, but Randy and I really didn't think much past the "having a baby" part of parenthood. It's surreal to mark time by the changes in a child and if I start thinking about him growing up my eyes fill with tears and my heart starts to hurt. It's best if I take it one day at a time. Oh my heart.

**Do you remember your 13th birthday?**

Comment Window Tidbit: I've slept weird 2 nights in a row and have a kink in my neck, it's not pleasant.

 

Junior High?!!

Thank heaven I experienced all my anxiety about Landon going to Junior High back in March when I first received mail from the school regarding class selection, immunizations and an open house. Landon had been giving us some attitude at that time, and I was feeling seriously panicked about this next stage of his life (and ours as parents).

Fortunately, we went to the open house at the Junior High which put my fears to rest and made me excited instead of worried for him. Also instrumental in putting my mind to rest, was the life-changing service project that turned Landon from a lippy pre-teen to a super sweet, service-oriented, almost too good to be true sort of boy. Phew!


So when Monday morning rolled around and we had to go to the Junior High to pay $51 in class fees (#$@!), I was cool as a cucumber (they are notoriously cool).


Then again that evening when we went to the Junior High for back-to-school night I felt totally calm. We familiarized ourselves with the map, found all his classes, tried out his locker (at least 4 times for good measure) and felt the energy of this new adventure.


It's amazing how quickly my locker-opening skills came back to me, even though it has been 20 years since I've had to use one, I was able to walk him through it like not a day had passed.


The classrooms were all in order and Landon was very happy to see the BYU football poster on the wall of his history class.


So Tuesday morning was his big first day and he was READY! He had woken up on his own at 6:00am, showered, eaten breakfast and was all but out the door when I got up at 7:15.


We had plenty of time for some early morning photos, including this one of his very faded name on his backpack which he has had since kindergarten!


It seems just like yesterday that Randy and I excitedly got him ready for his first day of kindergarten.

I'm going to O.D. on nostalgia!

The backpack was laughably ginormous on him then, so seeing it on him now really hit me with how much he has changed (cue tears).

Obviously he was excited!

I love it that he knew I'd still be taking pictures as he walked away.


I ended up driving over to stake out the bus situation. This is the first time he has ever had to ride a bus to school, so that seemed noteworthy. Not a bad view eh?


I made our traditional first-day-of-school chocolate chip cookies for him and Whitney made this cute sign with acorn paper weights.

He had a great day and came home feeling like he knew where everything was already (it's a BIG school).

**Do you remember your first day of 7th grade?
Do your kids ride a bus?
Do you have a tendency to O.D. on nostalgia?**

Comment Window Tidbit: Writing this post and being able to reference two of my previous posts made me feel overwhelmed with happiness for the beauty of blogging. All of these things would have been forgotten if I hadn't written them down, and since I'm not a dedicated journal-writer when it comes to traditional journals, it is amazing how blogging has made me a dedicated documenter and I love that!

Eleven is a Good Number

At this time, eleven years ago today I was the size of a Blue Whale, was tethered to multiple I.V.s and was attempting to breathe through excruciating contractions with the help of my very zealous doula. I was being induced because my blood pressure had gotten too high and the doctors were worried that I had Preeclampsia.


I spent several hours in pain before begging for an epidural (aka gift from God), then spent several hours giggling happily because I couldn't feel any of the pain (curse my doula for encouraging me to suffer those earlier hours!). Eventually the epidural wore off and we thought Landon's arrival would be soon, but he ended up taking 1.5 hours of me pushing to actually tear his way into the world (and I do mean tear). I remember thinking I was going to die (for real) and that I was okay with that because I'd never experienced pain like that before and couldn't take much more. But he finally arrived and all those thoughts disappeared.


It's hard to believe it has been 11 years since then! It feels like a long time and a short blip at the same time, how can this be? Now that 7 pound 9 ounce bundle is a 95 pound boy who is only a couple inches shorter than me. Heaven help my heart!

Here are 11 things I love about Landon.

1. He is hilarious.

2. He has a desire to do good.

3. He's very sweet. I forgot my pillow when we went camping last month and he put his pillow on my bed and was going to go without one. I gave it back to him (along with some hugs) and later caught him trying to sneak it back onto my bed.

4. He's a good brother to Whitney.

5. He's super smart.

6. He loves So You Think You Can Dance and holds my hand while we sit on the couch watching it together.

7. He never complains. He occasionally pauses as a form of a negative reaction to something, but quickly regroups and rolls with whatever is asked of him.

8. He likes to snuggle in the cozy with me.

9. He often tells Randy and I we are the best parents he could ever have.

10. He has a tender heart and gets upset if he thinks he has hurt someone's feelings.

11. He has a great smile, his whole face lights up when he smiles.

**Do your kids' birthdays wig you out a little bit?
Do you feel like time goes slow and fast at the same time?
Have you ever thought you were
going to die and been okay with it?**

Whitney's Baptism Day

Having Whitney's baptism day fall the day after Halloween proved to be a bit challenging. All week as she was counting down to Halloween I would remind her that we were also counting down to her baptism day, but it's hard to compete with a candy-fest day like Halloween.


We knew Randy's dad and step-mom were coming for the baptism, but we didn't know when they were coming or where they were staying. Imagine our surprise when we woke up Saturday morning to find them standing in our kitchen! (The kids had let them in.) We ended up throwing on some clothes and going to IHOP for breakfast with them, then they took the kids Christmas shopping while Randy and I prepared for the baptism (house cleaning, food, ironing, etc.).


I was in a tizzy of preparations and felt really flustered. I hadn't planned on being gone Saturday morning, hadn't planned on Randy taking a whiny phone call from his crazy sister (who we hadn't invited), had let the Halloween activities the day before dominate my time more than they should have, and was feeling rather unsettled. As I was vacuuming the house, I had to consider the source of those feelings and to see the ramifications of giving in to them on such a spiritual day. It wasn't easy, but it worked and I was able to readjust my focus on the importance of the day and disregard the distractions that were piling up.

{Whitney's art work for the program cover}

I was scrambling to get the food ready, and was saved by Lorna-Dee's help (phew!), and then I was scrambling to make the program for the baptism. I don't know why I left that to the last minute, but I did. Lori helped by formatting it while I got ready, but then we were having all kinds of printing problems ($#@!), It was 1:50pm and the baptism was starting at 2:00! I was freaking out, but managed to pull myself together and figure a way around the printing woes (I photo copied it on my printer and then printed it as a copy rather than a text document).


Then as Randy's dad was backing out of the drive way he hit Lori's car! He was parked behind my car, so it was like slow motion as I watched him do this.


We made it to the church at 2:00 exactly! Randy and Whitney had gotten there earlier so they could change their clothes and be ready, so I had time to take this photo of them and then sit down for the meeting. This was a less-than-ideal way to show up at my daughter's baptism, but everything else after that went well and I felt at peace.

The talks were great, short and sweet, and the baptism itself was quick and pure. We aren't allowed to take pictures during the baptism, but the image of all our friends and family in that room to support Whitney is burned on my brain. I loved seeing all the cousins and little friends on their knees peering over the edge of the font to see Whitney go under the water. I think attending baptisms of those you know powerful and often more memorable than your own day.

When the entire service was over Whitney was glowing. Even though I know she doesn't understand the importance of this day, I know she felt loved by all in attendance, so hopefully that will help her remember how she felt on that day.


We came back home for food, photos and socializing. It was nice to have Amy taking pictures with my camera so that I didn't have to worry about things and could actually be in some of the photos.

I love this photo she took of Whitney!

We were blessed with gorgeous, warm weather that day which pretty much saved my bacon because we never would have been able to fit everyone in the house (it was already like clowns in a Volkswagen). The kids were able to play outside and have fun together. (Cousin Austin, Lucas and James are Landon's best friends.)


The girls played great too (Ashley was in the bathroom so she's not in the photo) and though they were spastic and uncooperative for this photo it still captures their fun.


I felt so thankful for Michelle and Amie's help with everything. I was so glad they were there to share this special day, that they brought their kids, and that they are my personal support team.


As things wound down and the house was cleaned up (by my family, not me!) Adam came outside and had a noodle war with the boys. Lucas kept his distance (wisely so) but Landon and Austin are familiar with Adam's antics and took advantage of the opportunity to play with him.


I was also very thankful the help and company of sisters on this day. They really stepped up and filled in the many gaps I left.


Whitney received many thoughtful gifts from friends and family, and I'm hoping they'll help her remember her special day. She received a nice, new set of scriptures with her name on them, a beautiful necklace with her birthstone on it, a baptism book for her to fill in, a couple scripture bags (she wants both of them), an "I'm a child of God" necklace, $8, and a journal.

**Do you remember your baptism day?
Do you have a support team?
Do you give gifts for baptisms?**

Sunday Thoughts

And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God. (Mosiah 2:17)

It was my turn to do Sharing Time in primary today (after a lovely 6 week break thanks to practicing for the primary program, which I still haven't blogged about) and it was about service. I had a testimony of service already, but something always happens to my heart when I have to teach a concept to others. The concept becomes more clear in my mind, so that I can see the beauty and the simplicity of the idea.

I found myself telling the kids, "If you can gain a testimony of service, you will be blessed throughout your life." Upon thinking about it further I would even say that if you want guaranteed happiness all you have to do is serve others. I truly believe this and think that even if we know this and believe it we still forget to do it when we're struggling with something or sad. It's hard to look beyond our own woes, but when we do our load becomes lighter and our hearts more full.

I brought a bag full of household items and had the kids take turns choosing something out of the bag and suggesting a way they could serve others with that object. It was so simple and applied to everyone from age 3-100. It's a matter of being kind, loving, helpful and getting over ourselves.

**Do you have a testimony of service?
Do you forget about it when you're stressed?
Do you teach your kids to serve?**

Preparations

Since I'm leaving town next Monday for 5 glorious days in Michigan to visit Betsy, this week has found me in a frenzy of preparations. You see, Whitney's 8th birthday is this Saturday which means her baptism is November 1st (the first Saturday of the next month), so we needed to find her a baptism dress and take pictures for her invitation this week in order to be ready. I'm not usually one to plan so far ahead (though 2 weeks really isn't that far), but this time it was necessary.


Whitney and I left on Monday afternoon after school (Landon went to a friend's house). She read her school book to me while I drove us to the mall (it was hard to help when I couldn't see the words).


Our first stop was to get her ears pierced. We were going to do it one day in August while we were back-to-school shopping, but the store inexplicably closed in the middle of the day. I surprised her by suggesting we do it this day and she was thrilled. She held really still and didn't even wince. Later she said, "I focused."


This is the finished look and a cute, happy girl (wearing a darling dress/shirt sent by Kristi). She suddenly looks so much older to me...what have I done?


Our next stop was a floofy dress shop to find a white dress for her baptism day. Whitney tried on a few and we ended up buying the only one they had in her size (luckily we liked it) AND it even happened to be on sale! I told her how we have 3 white dresses in our lives, our blessing dress, our baptism dress and our wedding dress, and got a little choked up talking about it. It was surreal to be in a dressing room surrounded by white dresses like that. She said, "I can't believe I'm already on my 2nd white dress!" Heaven help my heart.


She was so happy carrying her purchases (for a little while, then I got to carry them) and looked so grown up. Her turning 8 is a definite milestone and is kind of an eye opener for me, apparently my kids aren't little anymore.

We were getting twitchy, so we took a pizza break. After that we shopped for a full-length slip (which wasn't to be found) and some jeans for her.

Here's our self-portrait outside the mall after our successful outing. Our next stop was the craft store and the dollar store where we found some fun stuff for her birthday party. Can you believe I was in good form this entire time?! If I had had to stay at the dollar store much longer I probably would have lost it (there's a weird crowd there) but we did great.


Our last stop was Wal-Mart, and we even ended up stumbling upon a helpful employee! (Unprecedented!) We were scouting out bikes for a possible birthday present and this man ended up showing us several different bikes and taking Whitney around for test drives. He was so nice and so helpful, I could have cried.

We had such a great afternoon together, my heart felt squeezy full as we drove home. I am glad we had to plan ahead, because it made our outing much calmer than it would have been if we'd left it to the last minute. I hope she always remembers this day and the things we talked about and the importance of turning 8.

**When did you get your ears pierced?
Did you focus?
Don't you love outings like this?
Can you believe we had a helpful employee?**