FABULOUS book!!!

My neighbor, Melissa, and I have recently started talking about the real stuff in life – family and faith. She and I are both audio book junkies and so we began swapping this week. I just started listening to this one and cannot recommend it highly enough!

Don Piper is a Baptist preacher and in 1989 was returning from a conference when he was hit head on by a semi truck and declared dead on the scene. He spends 90 minutes in heaven but then is brought back to life and has to endure the very real and very painful process of healing – physically, emotional, and spiritually.

As someone who has spent quite a bit of time in the hospital on various occasions for different injuries and health problems including the current challenging disease of ulcerative colitis, I found his thoughts right on the money. There is such an emotional roller coaster a person goes through when fighting a disease or to recover from a traumatic experience. There is inevitable depression and despair when the fight is hard, when you become tired of the fight yet everyone you love is pulling for you. It was great to read about his very honest thought process over the years and how it has ultimately become the best growing experience for him, his family, and all those their lives touch.

The description of heaven given is so beautiful and just what I imagine it to be. It had me in tears. It was just what I envisioned when my Papa passed away. I miss him and wish Ryan and my kids could have known him here. But I have felt his smiling approval of me and my choices on a couple occasions, once while feeling sad he wouldn't be there to see me get married to Ryan.

This man wanted to die to return to heaven and his glorious welcoming committee, but knew God wanted him here on earth and that there was a purpose for him being here. The ordeal of dealing with the pathetic condition of his mortal body was often too much to handle. His account also includes what his family members dealt with and felt through the ordeal.

Read it! Read it for yourself and/or for those you know going through hard things. It will help you know how to get through it and perhaps give you ideas of how to help someone else. When someone else is going through something hard and you want to help, it's great to know what is not actually helpful. Right? It took this man over a decade to write this book because of the complexity all the emotions and how the trauma so affected him. I love how this book shows the healing process.

A new family tradition & Ryan's twin

Easton was sent a card and money for his birthday from his Grandpa Nelson and Grandma JoLynn. We decided this would be a great chance to teach Easton about tithing and deciding how to spend money. We had the tithing discussion and then headed to a little bookstore (Books & Crannies) to spend a bit of time looking at fun books and letting him pick his favorite. It was so fun!

We let Easton carry his dollars in his pocket until halfway through the car ride when he couldn't get the dollar bills back into his pocket and we were all worried about him losing it. I held on to it for him and all felt much better - but so cute to see him excited about having "monies" of his very own. And they were the fun $2 bills!

After Ryan and I ran the kids into a store we found a candle we had to have for our new little entry way nook, we got to the book store. Their children's section is upstairs and we had the little area to ourselves to sit, browse the books and enjoy the time there with no pressure. There was a cute book on how to be a pirate, an illustrated popup book of "The Wheels on the Bus", and other little treasures of varying costs. We told Easton which books his money could buy and it was such a sweet little experience!


Easton finally selected "Will You Carry Me?" which is a beautifully illustrated little paperback about a little boy who gets tired playing in the park and he and his mom try different movements on their way home like flying, swimming, jumping and running until they're snuggling at home on the couch. Hmmm, a parenting strategy? Very cute book and Easton got to take his money to the counter and pay for his new book. Ryan and I got a kick out of watching Easton fumble with this money and try to get it all on the countertop.

McKay, during the transaction, hollered "DADDY!" has he tried to hug and thereby knocked over the life-size poster/display of Stephen Colbert (of the Colbert Report - late night entertainer and political satirist). AAACK!!! But still ya had to laugh at the kid thinking he could hug a poster of someone he thinks is his Dad!

The girls behind the counter were in love with the $2 bills so that was also fun. Afterward, we let Easton buy a Wendy's frosty with this remaining birthday cash. He got a brain freeze and didn't finish it - but no worries, McKay was on the scene to do his duty!

We enjoyed this little outing as a family so much it will now be a tradition with birthday money. Thank you Grandpa Nelson and Grandma JoLynn!

Why I Love Ryan & His Marathon

I framed a collage of Ryan's marathon pictures and wrote him this letter which he opened Christmas morning. I wanted to share it because I have 7 brothers and sisters and many dear friends who are or will be selecting someone to marry (perhaps in the near future??? (You know who you are!). No names here to protect the innocent!

You don't really know what you're getting into when you get married and then life throws many curve balls - but I've been so lucky to have found Ryan. We knew pretty quickly when we were dating (age 25 & 27) that we'd found the right person - just five months from the time we began dating to when we were sealed for time and all eternity in the Columbia River Temple in my home town of Kennewick, WA.

We've enjoyed the most wonderful Christmas break doing things for each other and as a family. We've gotten things done, relaxed, and just loved being us. What else could one hope for out of life?! It hasn't all been roses because of those natural bumps in the road, but I've got someone to rough it with and that's reason to celebrate! Here's the letter:

Dearest Ryan,

We have had five years of marriage, five years of learning, and five years of melding our lives together to forge an eternal relationship and family unit. I have often been drawn in the past few months to dwell on the tremendous impact your marathon experience has had on me and my view of our marriage. I learned so much from this experience with you and feel it deserves a place on our walls.

To me it will always signify the noble character of the man I married and how blessed I am to have you forever. You are a great goal setter who has the drive to follow through and does not take commitments lightly. You are also a thoughtful goal setter and really wrap your head around the scope of the effort before you decide on the course to take. I admire your determination and diligence to do the hard things when your will was wavering. I couldn’t help but draw parallels to how these qualities are such a blessing in our family and the ideal traits I have always longed for, wanted, and needed in my equal – my eternal companion. I have always said I do not fear the future with you directing our family. I felt intuitively in those training months that this experience gave me an eternal preview of how you will be instrumental in what is achieved in our family.

I was surprised you running the marathon prompted significant personal introspection within me. I realized more about my role in our family - as the support I can be and should be to you. I learned a lot about following your lead. That sacrificing on my part to help you achieve your goals ultimately makes us stronger when you chart a course, we discuss it and you let me give input, and then I simply try to do my best to support you. I was often reminded of Adam in the Garden covenanting with the Lord to obey the commandments, followed by Eve covenanting with Adam to follow him as aligned himself and guided their family according to the Lord’s will. I am starting to better understand what that means.

I so appreciated your flexibility as I am learning how to support you. Those days you’d come home needing to get in a long run and I’d want a break from the kids – you were so wonderful about gauging my emotional temperature. I know I am not the most willing, eager support sometimes, but I began working on that because of your example. I remember Marci relating counsel President Chapman related on how to have a happy marriage – to do everything in your power to help your spouse achieve their righteous desires and goals. That the power of example supersedes all coaxing, nagging, or other methods to get the desired behavior in others – in short to treat them as the person you want them to become. You do that for me and I promise to strive to be that best friend and wife for you.

This is not the finished memento to commemorate your determination and achievement of the Richmond marathon. It’s like a jumping off point. After I had the matte cut, I found your number bib and remembered you also had the medal which would be great with the pictures. I also thought the inclusion of an inspirational quote would be a nice touch but had trouble deciding on the right one because this means so much to me for us. So here are some choices and we’ll go from there

Every man has in himself a continent of undiscovered character. Happy is he who acts as the Columbus to his own soul.
Sir J. Stephen

Some men succeed because they are destined to, but most men succeed because they are determined to.
Greame Clegg

God ever works with those who work with will.
Aeschylus

Goals are a preview of future events and experiences in your life.
Mark Victor Hansen

A goal is a dream with a deadline.
Napoleon Hill

I love you more than I can describe and I hope you enjoy this gift as much as I loved our fabulous getaway.

Tracie

Embrace being a girl!

I have had the most wonderful week, thank you! On Thursday, Ryan let me go for the day and I was a total girl! I browsed a strip mall for shoes and home décor ideas, snapping pictures of fave ideas to share with Ryan on his iPhone. That little iPhone saved us a lot of money and is the way I intend to shop from now on. I hate to impulse buy and like to think it over and see if something still speaks to me days later because then it means I really found something fabulous for me. I was kinda looking for an occasion table for the entry way where Ryan could put his keys, phone and wallet down but that would have enough drawers to keep all sorts of random stuff like the boys’ socks, tape dispenser, batteries . . . and I found the perfect one! But I snapped a picture of it and it's accompanying knickknacks to make the niche so I could show Ryan when I got home. I love his opinion on this stuff because he always has specific ideas too and we're in this fun phase of enjoying the creative process to create a peaceful homey feeling in our home.

So after getting all those snapshots and drawing looks from fellow sale scavengers, I headed to the mall to get Ryan’s slippers at Brookstone. They were out of his size and have discontinued the line so I knew I’d have to track them down elsewhere. I had told Ryan I intended to go to a dept store makeup counter and have them do their whole routine/spiel. I wandered over to the Estee Lauder area because it seemed they were doing makeovers and they were! It was so fun! I have never had a skin care regiment or known my colors, how to apply makeup or what tools to use. I got the full education and the makeup artist was just this nice chic motherly woman who just enjoyed teaching me without being pushy.

After she just did the cleanse, toner, moisturizer, and eye cream I felt like a new woman at 5pm! It was just FABULOUS!!! I had them write it all up and then I had the counter lady tell me all the prices for everything. In the end, I got the moisturizer and an eye shadow color and am quite happy with that little start that I can now build on if I choose. Why has it taken me so long to embrace being a girl – it’s fun!

I owe my inspiration to my high school/college best bud Rach and her devoted trendy, girly friends who do her up - Jocelyn and another Rach. When my Rach moved to Michigan after BYU graduation to work for Ford, she came home with a fabulous short haircut that just looked amazing on her thanks to Jocelyn and her peeps! Rach now had a hair stylist, Luis, who really just decides on her look for her – I still need to find someone like this! Then the gals started doing her makeup for occasions and she just looked great! For Rach's MBA graduation, she sat on a stool and the girls made her up and all were happy with their roles - it was so fun! Since Rach and I met that wonderful spring of our junior year in high school, Rach and I are/have been the quintessential is-it-really-worth-the-time, money, effort, I-don't-know-what-I-want, love-me-like-I-am type. But I feel like we’re evolving and embracing this whole being a girl thing now. Rach, am I right or am I right?

After gettin' my goods (and feeling like I needed the makeup artists address so I could send her Christmas cards from now on for the service she rendered), I browsed more stores and even tried on swim suits! Aaaack!!! The last time I bought a swimsuit was actually in high school! Yup, my body has changed a bit in those 10+years what with childbirth/nursing and all so I was long overdue - but who ever has the time, money or inclination for such things?! Well I did, especially looking foward to a family trip to Vegas in March to spend time with Ryan's side of the family poolside.

The sales lady in the swim shop made me try on a bunch of different suits and I found a style I LOVED, just not a print pattern I liked. It was a liberating experience, even though I'll never have the body I would love to have - I can make due with what I've got and not completely embarrass my children at the pool with my lack of being with the times. (Thank goodness I've got plenty of time before they'll ever be aware of this, not that it really even matters - but still!)

So my day out was a day of surrendering to the inner girl in me that didn't know she'd been neglected for so long. I let myself just spill my gut and tell the reasons I was looking and it was so wonderful to be heard by people behind the counter doing their job to sell their wares. They were all so willing and eager to share their expertise and make me go beyond my comfort zone, try something new, and be okay with looking at things a little differently. What a glorious day!

That was Thursday. Friday, Ryan and I tracked down his slippers and we went and got that cute little table for the entryway. He knows how to make me happy! And he took me to the Tortilla Factory in Herndon to see if their chips and salsa measured up to our old Alexandria fave Mexican food haunt, El Paso. They did!!! HURRAY!!! I've decided I need to start keeping a list of my fave local joints here on the blog so that people will tell me their faves too.

My birthday was perfect because I got to have a heart to heart with a neighbor, some of my girlfriends took me out for dinner, and then I got to nap on my friends' couch while they went to a movie and we stayed up way too late chatting about old times/new times. Nothing better than shopping, good food, and fabulous friends and family on my birthday!

Of Cars and Bob the Builder

Easton has had a few funny moments this week that gave us the chuckles!

Story #1
Easton has a favorite computer racing game with the cast of Disney Pixar's "Cars." The cars holler at each other on the road and frequently bump into one another all in fun, mind you. Then picture me and Ryan taking the boys on a little shopping trip down to the outlet mall to find Ryan some new black shoes for work. It was a bit congested in the aisles and I had McKay in a stroller but Ryan had gone down to the opposite end of the aisle to sit and try shoes on.

I gave Easton a box of shoes and told him to take it down to Ryan and was surprised he was a very willing helper. The next moment I hear Easton holler,"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" to some unsuspecting man with his back to Easton as he looks for shoes. Completely startled and astonished, not sure how to react to this little rude boy, the man moves aside very flustered as I turn red and profusely apologize. Easton is already gone and has found Ryan so I couldn't get him "in the moment". I hightailed it out of there with McKay real fast. We find Ryan and I call Easton over to me to have a lil' heart to heart. Ryan is half listening but just busts a gut as I tell Easton that yelling "Get out of my way" should rather be, "Excuse me, please." I think Easton got the point of the little chat, but Ryan and I are still laughing about it!

Story #2
To preface, you have to know that when Santa came for his early visit on Sunday to bring the train table, Santa told Easton that he and Bob the Builder had made the train table especially for the boys. Easton, of course, absorbed that little tidbit of information and it made perfect sense to him.

Today Ryan was home with the boys while I got a day out to myself to be a total girl and shop (it was simply fabulous!!!). The guys on the homefront decided to have Mac'n'cheese but then Ryan told Easton we didn't have any in the cupboards.

Easton said, "Well Santa can bring it to us."

Ryan said, "No, Christmas is over and Santa is back at the North Pole resting from all his work."

Easton thought about it and then countered, "Well . . . Santa Clause and Bob the Builder can make it and bring it to us." There you have it. Easton knows his Santa can do anything with Bob the Builder!

Ryan had no comment but to wait for me to get home so he could share it! Luckily, there was some Mac'n'Cheese in the basement food storage - PHEW!

Merry Christmas!

We had a fabulous, simple Christmas morning. I'm trying a new slideshow above to see how I like it. Mixed feelings about seeing the comments - what's your opinion?

I was up early w/ my current routine so the tree was lit up, candles burning, rolls cooking, and Christmas music playing when everyone woke up. Ryan loves to have the "ambiance" just right and has high expectations of Christmas mornings which I'm still learning. Last year Ryan created the Christmas feeling and did a wonderful job so I tried my best this time and let him sleep in. I think I might need a checklist for future years' reference.

Everyone seems very pleased with their gifts and we've been eating all morning! We made my mom's caramel rolls, bacon, scrambled eggs w/ sausage-cheese-spinach, Nancy's cheese ball and Tricuit thin crisps (new fave cracker!), Moosemunch, See's, and Applets & Cotlets (Ryan's the only one who eats them!). Ahhhhh, we love ourselves some food and snacks!!!

The boys are happily playing in the basement right now with their train set. What a great thing! McKay is actually the one who heads to the basement to play on his own more than Easton. Easton has to be reminded that there's a world beyond his 'Cars' computer game and his favorite cartoons. I gotta get Ryan to set the trampoline bed again - he'd taken it down in anticipation of an ice storm we were supposed to have gotten a little ways back. He takes such good care of us!

Merry Christmas!

Santa's Early Housecall

We have a wonderful master carpenter friend who watches over our family. He outfitted a train table and sliding storage boxes for the boys and just had to be Santa to our delight! Ryan let us know that Santa had to come early because it was such a hefty thing to fit down the chimney with all the other house calls Santa will be making tonight.

The boys absolutely loved their visit with Santa. Easton was like a jumping bean and at one point when asked why he was literally hopping for joy he said it was because he was so excited Santa was here! The boys really enjoyed playing with the meager train set we have, but it was perfect for them and McKay actually helped build it! He's quite particular about how he wants things already and since it was close to bedtime, he was a little more vocal in expressing his opinions - especially when Easton wanted him to share a train or two with him.

Before putting the boys to bed, I was able to sit down and share a beautifully illustrated "The Night Before Christmas" storybook with the boys. I'm so excited about this! I was so excited about the poem and great illustrations, but Easton had a million questions which threw off my flow! I hesitantly surrendered and we had a fun chat about every detail. We only made it halfway through before he was up and hopping away, McKay was long gone after the second page. Ahhh, it's a start!

Ryan did a bit of baking yesterday and we had a fabulous laid back day enjoying my brother Chris and his wonderful wife Tricia. We always have a great time hanging out with them but this was the first time we felt like we got to just enjoy them without a lot of extra stuff going on. Ryan made his mom's German barbeque roast recipe with the ultimate gravy, fluffy mashed potatoes and corn. It was so fun to eat with just them and have the boys napping! Meals without kids are just so enjoyable now and then!

On Saturday evening, Ryan got to hear fellow pie lovers sing his praises. He's never really experienced that aside from me and his Mom's adoration which is great, but from others it seemed slightly more delightful. And since Ryan's usually at work when people pick up his pies and turtles, he just doesn't get to see all the fun like when Yvonne just asked for a spoon upon arrival so she could dig in to her fave key lime! But to hear Marci and Samantha gushing was just classic fun. He loved that they love the pies for the same reasons he does. We love kindred spirits! And I relish seeing my husband's talents appreciated and see him enjoy his own kind of labor of love.

December catchup!

It's been forever, sorry! There's lots of fun photos from the past month to tell a bit what we've been up to and I'm just to lazy to really detail it all right now, but wanted to post a quick update. For those interested in the pictures, I commented on most of them so just click on the slideshow above to be taken to the bubbleshare website to read my comments.

If you've seen the cartoon "Over the Hedge" and remember the squirrel voiced by Steve Carrel who has dizzying energy, that pretty well sums up the past two weeks of me on high doses of steroids and finally feeling much better! YAHOO!!! I've been buzzing around catching up on my life and getting Christmas things together, just having fun! I feel like every mom should be given this wonderful gift in a bottle just before Thanksgiving because not only do I have everything done I wanted to do, but I had the energy and desire to do it through the most crazy season of the year! Gotta say though, the side effects aren't all that hot, so I think the "eat right, get enough sleep and exercise" thing would probably be much better holistic advice. I'm working on that - even began tracking everything I eat, all my symptoms, and all my meds daily on a worksheet I made myself! I'm telling you, me on high doses of steroids - watch out world, I'm taking over! (Watch out, I jump topics w/ wreckless abandon from here on out - another side effect, just ask Ryan or Janelle who've witnessed my very buzzy behavior lately!)

Oh how I've loved the Christmas season! Too much to say about this, but just know I am loving reconnecting with the reason for the season -- Our Heavenly Father's gift of His Son and our Savior's gift of the Atonement in order that we may have the gift of eternal life. I feel so blessed to know of the plan of Salvation! I'm learning so much right now about getting back to the nitty-gritty basics of the gospel as I try to be a good mom and teach my boys the true path to happiness. I found a great article about Christmas that took me back to my Holy Land Study Abroad 1997 - totally worth the read to learn maybe some lesser known universal symbolisms in the nativity story. Click here - "Tasting the Bread of Life."

Looking at the pictures of the past month, Easton is front and center in my thoughts. Our "SuperEaston" has turned 4 years old this past week. He is such a sensitive, contemplative boy who proclaimed this week,"We're a silly family!" I love that I can discuss with him how he and I can help teach McKay to be a good boy by sharing, not screaming through tantrums, saying sorry when things happen . . . it's great to have a partner in crime and my just Easton gets it!

This was the first year we've had a birthday party with friends his age over and we only began this year because it mattered to him. It was a real low key event but the boys had fun. It was really a glorified playdate but they seemed to really enjoy it. I was just so pleased with myself because I didn't stress over it and the cake and food we ate was eaten and enjoyed by all three boys who are very picky! HURRAY for me!

Within an hour of the party being over, Ryan and I were off to enjoy Ryan's Christmas / birthday gift to me. A getaway to the Goodstone Inn B&B of Middleburg complete with a tub soak finishing up "A Christmas Box", professional one hour massages, dinner at the Red Fox Inn c. 1724, journaling by the fire, FABULOUS scrumptious late breakfast, and perusing the cute shops of historic Middleburg. Ryan and I just had such a great time chatting and being in love - ah we just love quick getaways to refresh ourselves! I say the best gift you can give a young mom is to let her be pampered, fed extravagantly, and engaged in great conversations. I'm just so lucky to have a husband who picks up on my greatest needs! It helps me be the woman, mother, and wife I want to be!

A Merry Merry Christmas to YOU!!!

Christmas Spirit Wagon - All Aboard!

I feel like Christmas snuck up on me this year. I've been pretty sick this past month which I won't go into here, but sufficed to say that my functionality was greatly compromised. Doesn't that sound better than being reduced to canned soups, naps, not being able to sleep more than 2 hours at any time day or night, and not really leaving the house for a few weeks? Anyhow, I'm getting on the mend and loving Christmas this year. I think it's because Easton is starting to understand it which just makes me so excited!

With our little homeschool preschool group, I got to introduce the Christmas season last week and I loved how it put me in the Christmas mood! It was all about giving ourselves in loving service and celebrating the birth of our Savior. The kids really got into it and I am really enjoying talking about the nativity story with Easton as it comes up every day. He's so perceptive and it's fun to see that light go on. Yesterday as we were driving into DC for my work party, we were listening to the Scripture Scouts account of Jesus's birth which I love! It spoke of Jesus being born in a stable and not a hospital. Easton said, "Mom, stables have hay where Jesus was born. But I, when I was a baby, was born in a hopsittle." Then he wanted me to recount his favorite hospital story/song about how I sang to him the first time he cried. I loved talking to him about how angels came and told the shepherds to follow the star to find the Savior and how the kings also followed the star to find Him. I'm soaking up rediscovering what Christmas is all about through Easton, making it accessible and simple to him and me.

Not to forget the Santa aspect which Ryan really gets excited about sharing - Easton's loved watching the old Christmas cartoons that come on every year. He's still young and innocent enough to only want one thing for Christmas - a GeoTrax train like Owen's. Although he's now added a candy cane and a video game. (Ryan had borrowed a friend's Wii play system - the kind where the controller can let you swing a bat or play ping pong - and Easton LOVED the cow race arcade style! Tooo cute!) Anyhow, I just love that he doesn't yet embrace the "I want it all" syndrome we get too fast as kids!

I am also simply loving McKay's stage right now at 20 months. He loves to just play and explore everything around him until tuckered out. Then he just comes over to me, says "Up peese" and settles into my lap sucking his thumb and contorting his ear. I regularly have to remind myself to soak up these solicited snuggles while they last! McKay pulls chairs, stools, or stacks books up to whatever he wants to get into or turn off/on. McKay actually will head to the basement on his own to play and I've found him putting together Easton's train tracks that work like puzzle pieces - brilliant boy! He's saying "'elp Peese" and "Ank-woo" for just little things like help getting up or down, receiving a bowl of Cheerios to munch on or his favorite yogurt. This is also a fun time because he loves to celebrate himself with exclamations of "Ta-Dah!" or "Yeah!" complete with claps or arms thrown in the air! He loves to get his groove on to any music playing, especially if he turned it on and I LOVE that impish smile of sheer joy!

Right now McKay is pushing buttons on a funny noisy toy and looking up at me saying, "Mom-Mom, it funny." The nn is more of a yy sound, but it's hilarious to me that he gets it!

There is, I admit, always an exasperating spell or two per day where I joke with Ryan about McKay taking my name in vain. You know when little ones have only one volume button and it's hollering your name over and over just because they can or often just wanting acknowledgement of each move they make? When McKay's repeat button is stuck, it's him hollering "Mom-Mom." It cracks me up that I can give him specific directions or reason with him

McKay is our kitchen quality control because he likes to sniff and taste every ingredient. If Ryan is in the kitchen, he actually just toddles over to Ryan with his mouth open wide either grunting or saying "Peese!" because if Ryan's in the kitchen, he's making some sort of treat!

Back to my original thought about catching the Christmas spirit. The prophet said in his Christmas fireside that with all the hard things people around us are going through, we should be saying, "It's Christmas Time. What can I do for you?" I've been thinking about that a lot these past two weeks because for the past few months now I've been so blessed to be a recipient of others' service. Recently struggling with my health, I was surrounded by Ryan, my best friend Rach who came for Thanksgiving, my sister Brooks who also visited and always cheers me up, my mom calling to check in on me, and many devoted caring friends that saw through my feeble attempts at stoicism when I just wanted/needed to crumble. These caring friends exemplified the two following recent quotes from Elder Teh's General Conference address:
- "Our Heavenly Father places loving individuals on important crossroads to help us so that we are not left alone to grope in the dark."
- "Serving others need not come from spectacular events. Often it is the simple daily act that gives comfort, uplifts, encourages, sustains, and brings a smile to others."

It fits so perfectly with the short quotes in this month's Visiting Teaching about Becoming an Instrument in the Hands of God by Exercising Charity. How lucky am I to be blessed with so many caring friends that I did not feel forsaken, but instead felt completely buoyed through a rough time and joyful for such good women! In fact, I was not able to retreat from some of their efforts which in the end endeared them to me even more. Thank you wonderful friends - I hope you know who you are and if you've had contact with me in the past few weeks it is you!!!

On a trivial note of love to my cute boyfriend - Ryan still trumps you all because he installed a new faucet in the kitchen for me which makes me want to belt out a Hallelujah chorus every time I turn it on! Ryan's always doing little things for me to show he loves me, such a great heart! Funny story actually - Easton's first use of the faucet that night and he exclaimed, "Mom! Is this one of my Christmas presents?!" Man I love my guys!

My family has been so blessed in the past year with health and employment that I'm just so happy I'm home with the kids, that Ryan has a job he enjoys, that we have everything we really could need or want. I have a cousin whose house burnt down in the California fires. I think of her often and others I know who are currently struggling with various things. So many of us are so blessed, do we do enough to share ourselves and lift another's burden?

Just Thankful

The past month has been a roller coaster for me. That the ride is slowing to a more manageable speed finally. For those that I didn't already share this with, I've had a horrible flareup of my ulcerative colitis for the past month which we found out was due to being pregnant. We were so thrilled!!! However, I was so sick the entire time we had all our Thanksgiving guests that I feel like I missed out on good times! I miscarried early last week and am still working with my doctors to get well. Ahhh, life is such a never-ending learning process!

But in the midst of all these challenges, I felt so blessed. I have a caring husband who is always willing to help me in any way I need him without complaint. My two little guys smother me with love when needed and remind me of the simple joys found in life, many times in just sharing a smile.

New Faucet
Our kitchen faucet has been in such a state of disrepair for awhile now. We got a new one on Saturday which Ryan promptly installed (I LOVE THAT ABOUT HIM!). When Easton pulled up to get himself a drink, he exclaimed, "Whoa Cool! Is this one of my Christmas presents?"

Nativity
I'd told our little preschoolers the nativity story with our nativity and I've been pointing out all the nativities in town to Easton. On our way home from church, we pass the courthouse's nativity, the Catholic church's nativity sign, and a few lawn nativities! How fabulous!!! Last night we went to the DC Temple to see the lights and Easton really liked the partially live nativity. His comment was, "I like that baby Jesus story and they had swaddling clothes too!" It never ceases to surprise me what details kids pick up!