TAG

I'm so glad that my friend Elaine is now blogging. She tagged me this week and I haven't done a tag in awhile so here goes.

3 joys: Old musicals like 7 Brides for 7 Brothers and Oklahoma, giving a fantastic well thought out gift, going on outings with Aaron and the kids.

3 fears: Alzheimers disease, having rebellious kids, big dogs.

3 goals: Never get angry at my kids again, finish the wall quilt I began a long time ago, healthy cooking for me and my family.

3 current obsessions: Checking my highschool reunion page to see if anyone I know has signed up, my photo book/journal that I am creating on blurb.com, doing all the fun (East) things I can before we move in a month or so.

3 random/surprising facts: I am allergic to self-tan products (bummer -I could really use some), I won a contest for the fastest rope climber in my entire elementary school, I think my family is awesome.

I tag Kim T. , Camille T., Kristin N., Katie K. and Lindsay B.

Pirate Face

This is Lizzy's pirate face.

I Don't Mean to Brag...But...

The Harrison kids spent this weekend at our house. On Friday....I got all 4 kids to take a nap at the SAME time!! I know. I am amazing.

Tired kiddos

Lizzy fell asleep here while waiting for me to get her a snack. When she woke up 1 1/2 hours later she was furious. She said "Mom...you forgot my snack." I laughed and told her she'd fallen asleep and she got even more mad. "I did not!" she said. Good thing I had a picture.
Yes this is the hallway outside of our bedroom. Heaven only knows how she fell asleep there.
This picture is (obviously) not a sleepy one, but we laughed pretty hard at Andrew getting stuck in his basketball hoop and dragging it all the way down the hall searching for some help.

Beauty All Around

The cherry blossom festival ended about a week ago. It is quite an amazing spectacle that comes and is gone 2 weeks later. Our good friend and neighbor Chris took Aaron and I, as well as my parents and brother to a neighborhood called Kenwood that is kind of a hidden treasure during the cherry blossom festival. As we turned the corner and began looking up and down these streets....it took our breath away. It looks like a winter wonderland...only in the spring. The only thing Chris said is...."I don't know how anyone can see this and not believe there is a God." I agree....evidence is everywhere.

This is my brother, Brett. I'm so glad that he could come visit last week. We had a ton of fun together. Brett is one of those completely unassuming people. He just did whatever needed doing and didn't even mind that we had to stick him on the couch to sleep. Thanks for the visit Brett.

I'm putting this picture on for the benefit of my family. This is a picture of the tidal basin only 9 days after you were there. It was entirely pink last week and this week is green as can be. I think it's amazing to see how quickly the entire landscape of DC changed.

My Father is a Prophet by Ann M. Dibb

My Mom gave me a copy of this talk and I really really loved it. President Monson's daughter Ann M. Dibb gave a talk at BYU Idaho about her father... not long after he was sustained as the new President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It is called My Father is a Prophet. It is really so beautiful and just makes me love President Monson more. He is such a remarkable man and in so many ways has been prepared for this calling his entire life. Reading this talk really makes me want to get up and working harder at the things that I know to be most important. Read it here.

I can read!!

One of my favorite books is "These is My Words" by Nancy Turner. It is based on the true story of Sarah Agnes Prine....a pioneer woman. While crossing the plains...she finds a wagon full of books. Although she has lost her father and brother and faces enormous difficulty throughout her travels....she manages to bring these books with her. As she reads and gains knowledge about the world and thus herself...her life is changed. She has a passion for learning and reading throughout her life. I feel much the same way....like reading is the way I connect with something larger than myself. As C.S. Lewis said, "We read to know we are not alone." I'm amazed at how much knowledge is out there for the taking. I can sit down at my computer and in 1 minute have endless readings on a certain topic. It is unbelievable and humbling.

Another favorite quote is by Dr. Suess..." The more that you read the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." Well...the whole point of this post is just to document how very excited I am that Lizzy is learning to read. She gets so excited when she sees a sign somewhere and manages to sound it out. It's also fun to see her working hard at something and then really feel proud when she accomplishes it. So yeah for Lizzy and if you haven't read "These is My Words" ... you should.