The Testimony of A Three-year-old

Our son has been asking to bear his testimony in church for the last couple of fast Sundays. We ascribe to the counsel that little children should be given a chance to share their testimonies at home until they are older. So, we've been having a little testimony meeting during family home evening the last few weeks. Tonight's testimony was classic: I know this Church is true. I know the temple has lots of doors. I'm thankful we get to have banana splits. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Salt Lake City Half Marathon Here I Come!

I'm putting together a team (a/k/a running buddies) to run the Salt Lake City Half Marathon on April 18. If you'd like to join us, we'd love to have you. Two of my sisters are already on board and I've got another couple of people thinking about it. Here's the link to the website. They have a fantastic expert training program (for all levels from beginner to advanced) that helps you plan, track, and monitor your progress. It cost $60 for the half marathon. There is a 5k if you're looking for something more low key and a full marathon for those looking for a challenge.

Ask yourself: "Can I give more?". The answer is usually: "Yes".
Paul Tergat

Hope to see you in the top of the mountains come April!

Water Dripping from Everywhere

So, we have a leaky ceiling...in four different places! We have had so much snow and ice build up that that the bottom layer of ice closest to the roof started melting and getting under the shingles and running into the house and pooling up on the ceiling and finally came through. These are officially called ice dams. We've never had them before, so this is a new and crazy experience. Water dripping through one of the lights in the kitchen, water dripping in a spot in our office, water dripping between the walls of the laundry room, water dripping over A's bed. J accidentally put a hole through A's ceiling where the drywall was soaked and the insulation was also sopping wet.

We're doing everything we can to prevent heat from our house from escaping through the roof and cause more melting. Unfortunately there is not a whole lot we can do until the ice is completely gone (a/k/a when spring comes), even though I've been up there carefully chipping away what ice I can. Yesterday when we were saying family prayers, J asked Heavenly Father to heal our house.

We've spent everyday many hours a day for the last several days trying to deal with this. The insurance claims person will come this week and tell us what it will cost to clean, replace, and repair everything. For as overwhelming as it has been at times, I am not loosing sleep over it and know it will work out. We just keep working and trying to prevent more damage, clean up the exisiting mess and moving on. I'll post the great pictures when I have a few more minutes to catch my breath and upload them!

Our Best Life -- 2008 Year in Review

Best Life

I have the best life! I love my family and enjoy the way they make me smile and laugh (and cry) and appreciate being alive. May my two boys and my wonderful husband know how truly loved they are!

Today

Today I ate five servings of fruits and veggies, had plenty of water to drink, and have a clean sink. This is just a reminder to myself that even when I yell too much, eat too much, watch TV too much, and leave the laundry, scripture study and bill paying too long there are things that I am doing right. Tomorrow I may not have that clean sink again. Tomorrow I may not drink enough water. Tomorrow I will probably eat more than I should and neglect the laundry once again. But tonight I go to bed knowing that at least a few things are right in my world and that tomorrow I can try a little harder to do a little better.

A FewThings about Me

Since I've all but disappeared from the blogosphere since having had my baby, I'm just now catching up on other people's blogs from the last five or six weeks. As it turns out, two different people have tagged me to blog about six or seven weird or unusual things about myself (thanks Sandra and Erin).

So, here goes my list of side show attributes:

1. I have incredibly flexible toes, over which I have lots of control. I can spread them out really far and move them all independently from one another. I never knew this was unusual until I met my husband and he told me it was, well, different. It appears that our children can do the same.

2. I love to watch the news and read the paper. Maybe this isn't weird, but I think it is becoming less and less common these days. Besides the front page and local news, I especially like to read the OBITUARIES. That is probably weird. I had a professor in college who got me into it. He read the section religiously because he said you could learn a lot about someone from their obit and you can keep track of those who you know or loved ones of people you know.

3. I hate being scared. I don't like scary movies; I don't like roller coasters; I don't like being alone in the dark.

4. I am afraid of heights. I think this is a derivative of an inner ear problem that also makes me extremely car sick and causes some balance problems. (Maybe that is why I dislike roller coasters so much.)

5. I love to read cook books. I know some may think that is beyond boring. I've read lots of them--a couple just about cover to cover. I really enjoy seeing how things are made, the combinations of ingredients to achieve a desired outcome, and how I can experiment to modify the recipe according to what I have on hand or for a healthier version. (Note: I have read Deceptively Delicious, Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook, William and Sonoma Grilling, and a couple of Weight Watchers cookbooks as well as three or four Relief Society cookbooks almost in their entirety.)

6. My mom used to say that you could tell what mood I was in according to what I was playing on the piano that day. I'd say that is still a pretty accurate gauge of my emotions, that is when I have a spare moment to play and my children will let me do it (A likes to dominate the keyboard just about every time I sit down to play).

7. I can watch the same movie an almost infinite number of times, depending on the movie of course. My husband says he can watch a movie once or twice and he's content to never see it again. I have probably seen the movie Annie at least 100 times. I've also see several Jane Austin movies at least thirty times. That said, I have only seen three movies more than once in the theater: The Saint with Val Kilmer (still one of my favorite movies), The Net with Sandra Bullock, and Napoleon Dynamite (all viewings at the dollar theater).

I'd be curious to see what the following people have to say about what they think is weird about them: Musemeg, Amy Lynn, and Lindsay (no rush since I know you just had a baby, too)