Everyone Seems To Be Posting This...

but I don't care. It's wonderful.

Conclusion: 'Live in thanksgiving daily'. Read this, if you have time. You know what, make time. Read it :) It's one of my most favorite talks. You don't need to be religious to recognize the simple truths explained within these written words. I tried to pick a quote from it, but to many stand out to me. There is something about gratitude that creates such joy...an infectious joy. The beautiful thing about being grateful {showing gratitude} is that it's so very easy to do. And everyone has something to be grateful for...no matter who you are. Now, go read it.

My Red Hooded Boy

I'm unemployed now which means I have a lot of free time {understatement}. There are loads of things I could be doing during the day. Errands to run. Groceries to buy. You know "things". I have lists of things to do all over the kitchen. Sometimes, I find myself putting certain things on the 'to do list' off till Tyler gets home so we can do them together. At first, I thought I was being insecure and whimping out of going to the grocery alone. Then I started to think about it. It's not that I'm insecure, I've done loads of things by myself - for years. I lived a single life for a long time without Tyler and things worked out rather well {though the cure for lonesomeness was never found}. No, the reason for me putting things off till Tyler gets home is rather simple, I seriously enjoy being with him. I would rather do meaningless errands and obligations with him. His presence makes the task more enjoyable. Simple. As. That.

Conclusion: I'm grateful and for numerous reasons feel very blessed.

New Neighbors

It looks as though someone has set up their new home, in the babies room, while we weren't looking. Magical? Yes. I wonder if they are friends with any of these little ones. Perhaps we should get them a house warming gift? Tyler thinks we should at least build them some little stairs, for easier access.

Conclusion: All things magical make me smile.

P.s. Thanks for your help Steph! I'm so happy we can like magical things together.

Vans And Way To Much Free Time

The Babies.........................................The Daddys

Conclusion: These tiny shoes make me happy. And both of the boys who will or do fill these shoes overflow my heart with joy.

It Was So Great

Did I mention that my mom and Steph gave me the best baby shower a girl and her unborn son could ask for? Well, they did. Every detail was given attention and I felt so special and loved. See photos at Steph's blog, 1, 2, 3, 4.

Conclusion: I've said it once and I'll say it again, I am blessed with wonderful friends.

p.s. Funny that there is an S&L behind us. It's not for Steph and Lisa though...her awesome husbands name is Larry, but for purposes of this post lets pretend it stands for Lisa.

Best Stationary Ever

Word for Word:

Dere Lisa ges yut I lost my to frunt teeth bi the wa I cant yate fer Disneyland I miss you to

Love Lily

Translation:

Dear Lisa,

Guess what, I lost my two front teeth. By the way I can't wait for Disneyland. I miss you too.

Love, Lily

Conclusion: My niece and nephew pen-pals are the greatest.

{she spelled Disneyland right...some things are just FAR to important to misspell}

April Look, It's The Babies Room!

We hung up the curtains yesterday {thank you kind mother} which was the finishing touch on our tiny babies room. We really like it - cancel that - we love it. We still need a few more things like a changing pad ect. But, we're getting really close to being as prepared as we can be. It's still hard to imagine our little guy actually in this room. No matter how long I sit and contemplate the fact that this is HIS room it still doesn't seem totally real.

I haven't decided if I should recover the rocking chair. Your thoughts...? Babies sock monkey is hiding in his crib. He's waiting for the arrival of his new BFF.

Tyler and I designed this print for the baby. It's in the frame above his dresser.

It's lyrics from Dear Prudence, by the Beatles.

Bird prints.

My nice mom made the babies quilt out of this fun fabric I found {it was a duvet from urban outfitters}. She did a A+ job. We have a few pillows in the same fabric as well. Also the changing pad will be covered in this fabric. They are at grandmas getting buttons though. I'm sure this is information you were all just dying to know....sorry if it's boring but it's the fun that's happening around here lately....plus I really want my sister to see it. Don't worry, we have lots of storage. There is a giant closet and loads of drawers on the non-photographed wall.

Conclusion: Giggling with my mom over tiny tiny tiny shoes, pants, and shirts is so much fun.

Faces In Places

Some people know I am addicted to faces in places. I get so weird and giddy when I get a picture text from a good friend that turns out to be a face in a place. Miss (soon to be mrs.) Lindsey sent me this commercial a while back and it's just perfect. Also, check out this blog, it's a great time waster.

Conclusion: Start seeing faces in places, I promise it'll brighten your day.

Unemployed & Halloween

It's amazing the things that can make me feel like I've had a productive day...now that I'm unemployed. For instance, today I went for a walk with two nice friends in the beautiful weather. I'm pretty sure if I did nothing else I would feel like my day was productive. Don't worry though, I plan to mop the floor AND we have birthing class tonight. I'll probably even check the mail. Woah, today is packed {wink}! Whelp, I'm off to think about organizing the closet in the babies room.

Conclusion: Bask in the relaxation some days offer.

p.s. I never posted about our halloween costumes. Tyler is obviously Capin' Hook and I'm his first mate Smee! {it took a bit to figure out someone I could be who has a big belly, but we did it} Steph's halloween party was the best I've been to.

Day Light Savings Time Mixes Things Up

Lisa: It's only 6:30.

Tyler: I know if feels so much later than that.

Lisa: What are we doing to do with ourselves?

Tyler: Don't know.

Lisa: We should take up a hobby or something.

Tyler: Both of us? The same hobby?

Lisa: Yes.

Tyler: Okay, I like archery.

Conclusion: I like him and his always positive attitude.

Somtimes When I Should Be Productive,

I instead put things on my belly to see if the baby will kick them off.

Conclusion: This is my last week of work and I fully plan on filling the next 8 weeks with activities like the one above.

I Kept My Eyes On The Mountains This Morning...

...because the snow was slowly making it's way down the beautiful mountain to the valley floor. It arrived a few minutes ago. There is no turning back for Mr. Winter now. It's time to pull out my boots, mittens, and stocking caps. I hope the baby doesn't mind being brought into a freezing cold world...at least it will be a pretty white world for him. I think he'll like that.

Conclusion: My office, luckily, stocks Stevens hot chocolate. Time to cook some up!

I Should Figure Out Cool Things To Make Like This, Then Stand In Them.

'The surface of the One Day Poem Pavilion allows light to pass through, creating shifting patterns. During specific times of the year, these transform into the legible text of a poem.'

Design: Jiyeon Song, Art Center College of Design

Conclusion: How cool is that?

Lunch and Prejudice

This is a photo from my lunch on March 4, 2008. I wasn't eating heels back then.

Today I made my PPJ sandwich with the heel of the bread. I usually never do that, but today I did. Guess what, it tasted just as good as a middle slice of bread. Who knew? All these years I've been prejudice against the heel without a good reason. My apologies bread.

Conclusion: It's never to late to to say sorry, even if it's just to the bread.

Thursday in October

I have very supportive friends and family. I'm really grateful for each of them. I am also grateful for the sunshine that was fighting through the clouds and falling to the mountains this morning, it was beautiful. I viewed it as a tiny gift from heaven.

Conclusion: This will be a nice day.

Bottles Galore

Last night I stood in front of a gigantic wall of tiny finger nail clippers. I had no idea miniature nail clippers came in such a variety. There was even a pair with a tiny magnifying glass attached. I was a bit overwhelmed as I gazed into a sea of pinks and blues, holding the scanner at my side. I turned around, thinking I would pick something easy first then move on to the detailed things. But as my view fell upon the wall behind me I discovered millions of baby shampoo, soap, and bubble bath. Again, overwhelmed. We probably shouldn't have gone to the bottle section next but they were just around the corner. I had no idea so many brands of pacifiers existed, let alone bottles. I felt like tossing a few packages of diapers on the ground, unwrapping one of the hundreds of fuzzy pastel blankets, and taking a nap.

Preparing for a baby is like nothing I've ever done before. Though registering was overwhelming, we made the best of it and enjoyed ourselves {Tyler is number one in my book of champions}. I am still somewhat shocked when I see the size of some things, like socks the size of my little finger, hats that would fit a snugly on a grapefruit, or onesies that would fit a small doll perfectly. I know it should have all probably sunk in by now, that we'll soon be holding our tiny little guy, but sometimes it just baffles me that it's real. Really real.

Conclusion: Every now and then when reality sinks, in my eyes tend to go abnormally wide. Yet, my heart is always flooded with such joy and I find myself whispering promises to our boy that we do and will always love him fiercely.

Zion's, In Pants

We spent the weekend at Zion's National Park with our reliable and spontaneous Fords. It was beautiful. It was calm. It was the first time I've worn pants since being pregnant. It was choice weather for hiking aka walking. It was snacks and laughter. It was a perfect tiny vacation.

Conclusion: "My profession is always to be alert, to find God in nature, to know God's lurking places, to attend all the oratorios and operas in nature." - Henry David Thoreau

p.s. Thank you Apey for being so accommodating on such short notice, we are grateful for you and your sweet family.

How Could These Not Make You Happy?

Conclusion: These are a few photos I took of my tiny nephew Joseph. He can make a gray sky blue within seconds. I wish you could know him so you could fully understand.

p.s. Click on the photos to get a large view. Enjoy

Like I Said, My Brother Is Rad

My family likes to play games. Last weekend it was hide-n-go-seek. It was intense, adults and children running all over the place. People dashing, jumping, and rolling onto the couch, which was base. And don't think the gang went easy on me because I'm pregnant, I got chased just as fast as everyone else. I was rather impressed with everyone's genius hiding places and jealous I couldn't squeeze into some of them.

Once, I hid behind the sink next to my mom as she was doing the dishes. I was impressed with how cool she acted, not giving me away. Both of my parents did a fantastic job of stuffing people in places or casually mentioning when it was safe to crawl out. I felt like a child again. I remembered when my dad would shove us onto the top shelf in the hall closet. We always knew someone would be hiding there, but it didn't make it any less exciting. We weren't allowed to climb the shelves {though we did climb the walls} so being able be swooped up and carefully shoved into forbidden place was a great adventure {as was getting down}.

Conclusion: When fond memories of my childhood come to mind, I become so excited that Tyler and I will have the opportunity to create equally happy memories with our little tiny. What adventures we'll have!

The above photo is of my awesome brother, Jeff. He's in a kitchen cupboard. Tyler was the seeker during this round and when he went downstairs to find the hiders I went to the cupboard and told Jeff it was safe to make his dash to base. He replied "no, I'm staying I want him to find me". He stayed in that tiny cupboard for the next 10-15 minutes. He made us all very proud.

And There Was WIND!

This is what it looks like when there is no wind. That's my rad brother and Tface, of course.

Normally, when the time comes around for our biannual kite flying fiesta there is less than ample amounts of wind. BUT this weekend I learned what you need when the wind is showing off it's mighty power:
1. A ladder to climb on the roof to snatch a stuck kite.
2. A brave dad or brother to snatch stray kites, multiple times from the roof.
3. An even taller ladder to get a stray kite out of the neighbors tree.
4. If you don't have a taller ladder, like us, you will need many skills to get the stuck kite down....or you must be willing to part with it's tail, thus leaving it in the tree as a constant reminder of fun times {sorry neighbors}.
5. A car to be used as an anchor {just in case it comes loose} so you can try to free another stuck kite.
6. Lots of heavy duty tape/safety pins to fix repairs.
7. Extra material for weighting down kite tails.
8. Quick feet that are able to quickly untangle soaring kite lines.
9. Mittens, if your event takes place in October and to avoid string burn.
10. Lots of extra string.
11. A champion hero of a husband who is able to dislodge the stuckest of kites.

Conclusion: At one point during the crazy fun I was distracted from watching my kite because I was so happy to see my family and friends running wildly around, staring at the sky, and joyfully laughing. I reaped the consequences of this and my trusty kite became lodged in a tree pretty securely. May his tail forever rest in peace.
p.s. I'm well aware I made a few words up in this post, it seemed fitting.