Since my diagnosis, so many people have offered their support, their service, their love, and their time. One of my favorite of these offers was from my sweet friend Jenny Richardson, who offered to take family pictures for us so that we could document the period in life when I "kicked cancer's butt!" I love her and love that she shared her beautiful talent with us. I'll treasure these pictures forever!
Monday, July 30, 2012
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Silly Bug!
Aaron is just at that stage where everything that comes out of his mouth is funny to me. I wish I had been better at journaling when Tori was this age! Here are some of his recent sayings that have made me giggle, as well as a picture and video of him being "strong like Dad."
Aaron: Heavenly Father didn't make that spider because He doesn't want spiders to bite us.
Aaron: Heavenly Father didn't make that spider because He doesn't want spiders to bite us.
Me: Heavenly Father made all the animals and all the bugs on this world.
Aaron: I know. Hard work, huh?
Me: I love you so much.
Aaron: Why?
Me: Why do I love you?
Aaron: yeah
Me: I love you because -
Aaron: Mom, Mom, I know why you love me.
Me: Why do I love you?
Aaron: Because you're my Mommy. You made me.
Me: You're right. Mommy and Daddy helped make your physical body, and Heavenly Father made your spirit. So Heavenly Father is the father of your spirit.
Aaron: Heavenly Father is my father??
Me: Yes. That's why we call him Heavenly Father and why you are a child of God.
Aaron. Heavenly Father is my Father. Oh. My. Gosh.
Aaron, during prayers tonight: Please bless Mason and Braden and Eden and Grandma and Grandpa on their missions. And bless people that they won't fall off cliffs or something.
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Kids, Kids, Kids
Sorry,
everyone, but it's time for another self-indulgent post wherein I brag about my
cute kids. :) Here's a sampling of some fun moments with them lately:
Aaron
woke me up the other morning with a hug.
“Thanks, buddy,” I told him groggily.
“Wait,” he said. “I need a kiss
too!” He kissed me and then told me, “you’ve
been giving me everything, Mom. That’s
why I did that.” “I have?” I asked. “What
have I given you?” He shrugged and
answered, “You know. A home, food,
watching over me. All that stuff.”
The kids
and I headed over to Seattle a couple of weeks ago and to keep them busy in the
car we were playing the alphabet game where you have to spot the letters in
order. We were stuck on "J" when Tori piped up from the back
seat:
Tori:
I wish there was a sign for a Javelina (pronounced with an "H"
sound at the front)
Me:
Does that even have a J in it?
Tori:
(Sounding impatient with her mother's obvious lack of knowledge) Yes, Mom.
It's Mexican. :)
I didn't
even know what a Javelina was, but Tori quickly informed me that it's similar
to a warthog. The fact that this was the first "J" word that
popped into her head is just so...Tori!
We were
in the car the other day and Aaron felt the need to lift up his shirt and flash
Tori. "MOM," Tori complained from the backseat, "Aaron
just showed me his nibbles!" I asked her what she was talking about
and she answered, "you know, those little pink things that stick up in the
middle of his chest." So Tori's calling nipples nibbles, and Aaron
refers to his nether regions as his "twinsies." Nibbles and
twinsies. Great.
About a month ago, the kids and I were at Ross. As I was checking out, Aaron told the sales clerk, "I've eaten hot dogs before!" They proceeded to have a conversation about hot dogs and corn dogs and how the best corn dogs are at the fair. As we were walking away, Aaron turned and called back to her, "see you next time! I love ya!" She looked so happy, and several other people around laughed at his comment. When we were almost to the car, he told me that he loved that woman and that she was so, so pretty. The woman was just an average looking, middle-aged woman, and I was touched that he was obviously seeing something in her that a lot of people probably miss. I felt strongly that I should go in and tell her what he had said, so I put the kids in the car and ran back in to tell her. She looked like she might cry and said, "you have no idea how much I needed that today. Earlier, someone was so mean to me that I was in tears and I've had a really hard day. Your son is so loving and wonderful!" I told Aaron about it when I got back to the car, and he was so sad that someone had made her cry. Ten minutes later we were walking into Wal-Mart, and I noticed that he was brooding. I asked him what was wrong, and he told me that he REALLY, REALLY doesn't like it when someone makes that woman cry. He then tried to convince me to buy her a present in Wal-Mart. Tori saved us a trip back to Ross and taught him a great lesson by telling him that he had already given her the best present by being nice to her and telling her that he loved her. In case I haven't mentioned it lately...I. LOVE. THAT. LITTLE. BOY!
About a month ago, the kids and I were at Ross. As I was checking out, Aaron told the sales clerk, "I've eaten hot dogs before!" They proceeded to have a conversation about hot dogs and corn dogs and how the best corn dogs are at the fair. As we were walking away, Aaron turned and called back to her, "see you next time! I love ya!" She looked so happy, and several other people around laughed at his comment. When we were almost to the car, he told me that he loved that woman and that she was so, so pretty. The woman was just an average looking, middle-aged woman, and I was touched that he was obviously seeing something in her that a lot of people probably miss. I felt strongly that I should go in and tell her what he had said, so I put the kids in the car and ran back in to tell her. She looked like she might cry and said, "you have no idea how much I needed that today. Earlier, someone was so mean to me that I was in tears and I've had a really hard day. Your son is so loving and wonderful!" I told Aaron about it when I got back to the car, and he was so sad that someone had made her cry. Ten minutes later we were walking into Wal-Mart, and I noticed that he was brooding. I asked him what was wrong, and he told me that he REALLY, REALLY doesn't like it when someone makes that woman cry. He then tried to convince me to buy her a present in Wal-Mart. Tori saved us a trip back to Ross and taught him a great lesson by telling him that he had already given her the best present by being nice to her and telling her that he loved her. In case I haven't mentioned it lately...I. LOVE. THAT. LITTLE. BOY!
Aaron: My stomach just girled at me
Me: Girled at you, huh?
Aaron: Yeah! It just talked to me. When it girls at me
it talks to me. It means I'm hungry.
Todd and I went out on a date recently and let Aaron and Tori have
a movie night while we were gone. The next day I asked Tori how the movie
night went. "Bad," she replied. "Bad?" I asked.
"Why was it bad?" "Because you weren't here.
Popcorn doesn't even taste good when you're not here." Talk
about making me want to never go out on another date again!
As we were getting the boat ready to take up to the cabin for the
4th of July, Todd was strapping things down and Aaron decided he wanted to
help. Handing Todd a bungee cord, he informed him proudly, "here
Dad, I have a hooker!"
Aaron is such a complete joy lately and keeps us laughing.
He was saying family prayer the other night and ended it by saying
"and please bless me that I can stop picking my boogers and eating
them..." Seriously, where does he come up with this stuff???
He's been going up to everyone lately (even complete strangers at times)
and giving them hugs and telling them he loves them. He loves having Jax
around and is sad on the days he's not here.
Tori just finished third grade and is doing an amazing job at
school! She alsofinished up another season of soccer. She played
goalie this year and loved it. She did such a good job that her coach
asked her to move up to play in the elite league next year. I gave her
the option, but she says she wants to take a break from soccer so that she can
try softball and also so that she can spend more time with family. I think
it was hard on her having her Saturdays taken up by games when she's gone the
rest of the week at school. She's had her first babysitting jobs watching
Finley for Brad and Sharee for their date nights. She takes the
responsibility very seriously and doesn't let me help her do anything...even
change the poopy diapers she gets to deal with. I spied on her using the
baby monitor as she was putting Finley to bed a couple of weeks ago. It
was so sweet to watch my little girl rocking a baby and singing "I love to
see the temple" and "I am a child of God". I swear it was
just yesterday that I was holding her and singing those songs. They grow
up much, much too fast.
Oh Say Can You See...
I think summer has finally arrived in Spokane! One of my favorite things about summer is the 4th of July, and this year we had a beautiful one! We spent the day at the cabin with the Burns and Moss families, and Jenna came up for a few hours with her family. She had just returned from visiting Hillary in Lithuania and was pretty wiped, so they didn't stay long. The kids spent the day fishing (surprise, surprise), and it's the cabin, so of course there was tons of food involved! Tori helped me pick out a few fun 4th of July foods (thank-you Pinterest!) and they turned out pretty cute! First we dipped strawberries in white chocolate and then dipped the tips in blue sprinkles. The cupcakes are topped with sprinkles and Pop Rocks candy to make them "fire cracker cupcakes" that pop in your mouth. :)
We had a lot of fun pulling the kids on "Big Bertha" behind the boat, and playing in the water.
We had a lot of fun pulling the kids on "Big Bertha" behind the boat, and playing in the water.
Aaron was fearless on the tube and would have been completely happy being pulled around the lake all day. Tori went in the tube for a little bit but honestly just wanted to spend all of her time fishing. That kid is a mystery to me sometimes! I'll take tubing and boating over threading live worms on hooks and then trying to remove said hook from a fish without completely tearing apart his insides any day! Tori has been wanting to try wakeboarding, so she gave it her first shot! She got up for a second and then faceplanted. She swallowed a bunch of lake water, and between that and how cold the water was, once was enough for her. She was pretty adamant about not wanting to go again...we'll try next year! :) We spent more time on the lake, and even Chewie suited up:
How anyone can look good in a wet suit is beyond me. Pulling it off a few days before your due date? Automatic rockstar status! Chewie even got in the water to surf and to try to teach me how to do it...needless to say, she looked like a pro, and I spent a lot of time being thrown on my face. I managed to get up a couple of times for about 10 seconds, but I'm sure it didn't look too graceful!
After the sun went down, we loaded everyone in the boat and headed to the south end of the lake. The country club put on a great display of fireworks and the full moon on the lake was beautiful. We were all pretty tired after a full day on the water, but it was worth it. A perfect day to celebrate our freedoms and our wonderful country!
It's a Bird...It's a Plane...
No, it's Super Faux-Hawk! :)
While Tori won't let me even think too long about styling her hair, she's recently taken to glamming up Aaron. The other night while they were supposed to be brushing their teeth, she was busy creating her masterpiece! Tori made sure she fixed his hair yesterday when we went to the cabin (it's important to look good while fishing, after all) and again today for church. He had to look good for all of his girlfriends in Primary. Thankfully, he left the cape and pajamas at home. :)
While Tori won't let me even think too long about styling her hair, she's recently taken to glamming up Aaron. The other night while they were supposed to be brushing their teeth, she was busy creating her masterpiece! Tori made sure she fixed his hair yesterday when we went to the cabin (it's important to look good while fishing, after all) and again today for church. He had to look good for all of his girlfriends in Primary. Thankfully, he left the cape and pajamas at home. :)
Kiss those guns!
The Smolder
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