Monday, December 9, 2013

first 10K

Margie drove all the way from Arizona so we could run a race together.  Sadly it was pretty junky weather.  But we managed to have a good time despite the downpour.  Andrew and the kiddos tagged along since little H bear won't take a bottle and the race was about an hour away.  I pretty much have the awesomest friend, husband, and kids.  

We got soaked.  It wasn't raining too hard at the start of the race but that didn't last for long.  We ran in Malibu state park and ran through some of the place they filmed M.A.S.H.  Andrew and I finished watching all 11 seasons of it about a month ago, so it was lots of fun to see an old M.A.S.H. jeep and other stuff from the movie set that's still out.  

I had such a nice weekend with Marge.  I'm sad we don't live closer to each other, but I'm glad she's so kind enough that I've been able to see her twice this year.  She's a lovely one.  I also went to my first movie in the theater since "Les Mis."  We went and saw "Philomena."  It was pretty good.  Not my favorite ever, but I do love me some Judi Dench, and girls' night out is always restorative.






Tuesday, November 12, 2013

marmee and papi


are not my parents lovely?

i'm going through pictures as i work on our photo album 
and i had to share these gems.
i love all these shots of my parents 
because all these angles show how lovely they are.  

and how SILLY my ma is 
and how CUDDLY my pa is.

i certainly inherited nostril flaring from marmee.



 


Saturday, October 26, 2013

have i really not written

since July?  yep, longtime, little old blog of mine. i feel i lack much creativity with words, and even thoughts of late, and so i just don't even try. alack.

but i did pour some of my creativity into my little ones' halloween costumes. i put some pictures of them on our family blog and i'll add one here that a friend sent to me.  i had fun making my little scarecrow and crow.  they are the sweetest kids around.  they're oh so tiring too, but this is the stage we're in right now.  hoping i can hold on to the dearest moments and write them down as best i can for they are a joy to me.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

18 july 2013


Today started early as E woke up at 6:30.  The sound of garbage cans rolling against the rough asphalt disturbed his slumber.  My eyes and body craved more sleep but H was stirring as well, so up we got up.  Getting up does not equal waking up.  In other words, it took a while to wake up.  We all got moving eventually.  

We went on a walk up through the quiet neighborhoods and back home again to shower.  Rew left for campus and instead of going to the grocery store I let H sleep.  I feel like I'm always interrupting her naps by running errands or by getting E out of the house.  This resulted in no nap for me today because she woke up minutes after E crashed for his.  But I was glad for the one-on-one time with E.  we read, colored, and ate lunch together.  We also tried out our new camera. 

With E asleep for his nap, H and I got to do some pretty fine cooing and singing and smiling.  I also got the laundry started. E slept for almost two hours and we finished up the wash.  Rew returned home and I sunscreened up to go teach a couple swim lessons.  H was wailing something fierce by the time I returned.   Poor girl still won't take a bottle.

I fed her while Andrew made dinner.  We ate and then got ready to skedaddle so Rew could participate in and record his scripture roundtable (I adore his whistling at the beginning).  With the two cherubs in tow, I went to Kohl's with a ten dollars card.  We came out with a new puzzle for E.  I didn't have to pay anything.  Great, eh?  Then we went to Sprouts for some fruits and veggies.  After arriving home, H was hankering for another feeding, so I obliged while Rew washed all the dishes.  Scripture reading with E was next on the list and then stories and prayers.  

We've been struggling to know how to get E to stay in his bed, but Rew sat by his door and he finally fell asleep.  H went to sleep with no trouble at all.  I got a chance to look over my lesson for Sunday school and now I'm fighting to keep my eyes open.  Sleep sounds like a good idea.


Wednesday, July 10, 2013

the last day of june

this was what i was doing the day before we took off for utah.  
these kids wear me out, but they fill me with so much joy.  

Friday, June 7, 2013

reminders

I thread the stalks and leaves through the tomato cage to straighten the plant.  The smell remaining on my hands reminds me of Dad's garden and summertime.

Starting on the eve of Memorial Day and then the whole day itself, I thought of Grampa Clark.  Last year at the annual picnic he sat there with a spangly cowboy hat atop his head.  This year he's been gone almost ten months.

I hear Hattie coo, converse, and communicate in a language I feel is real, but I'm not fluent in.  She reminds me of heaven.

Almost daily I'm reminded of how much I miss the close connection I had with Heather when we only lived a nine-minute run away from each other.  Nothing in particular has to trigger that.  I simply miss our boys playing so easily and comfortably with each other and miss sitting and talking with her.

Cool gray mornings, like today's, remind me of Ukraine--one word to encompass faces, moments, and more from my time there.

I pull on a tee-shirt, triathlete emblazoned across my chest.  I got it five years ago; it reminds me of the different seasons of my life.  Swimming, running, and biking (triathloning) enraptured me in that season.  Now exists a softer season.  My body is softer from growing my children, and hopefully my heart is softer too.

As I sit and read books with Eamon, I think of my mom.  There she is, years ago, sitting in the hallway light.  She reads and reads aloud as I fight sleep to hear just one more word.

Sunday, May 26, 2013

so sweet


These kids of mine, I tell you what, I sure love them so much.  

3:45 a.m. happiness

As I was turning off the light after nursing little miss H, the sight of these shoes filled my heart with happiness.


I bought them yesterday.  I've walked my old running shoes to a status of "mostly dead."  I can still walk in them, but I'm certainly not going to start up running again in them.

I'm excited and little bit scared to run again.  I haven't run since December, and even in December I was only doing about 5 minutes of running to 10 or 15 minutes of walking.  Hopefully my body will remember how to do it and it won't be too painful.

Here's to jogging at least twice this week, however many minutes I can make it!

Friday, March 8, 2013

love

I love seeing snow dusting mountain tops (it happens even here, I promise!).
I love when my little boy can't do anything else after coming home from the library until he's looked at all his newly-checked out books.
I love grapefruit.
I love watching M*A*S*H with my love.
I love feeling this littlest one squirm and poke around inside me.
I love imagining holding her in about a month's time.
I love singing, singing, and singing some more whatever song Eamon is currently fixated upon.
I love pancakes.
I love remembering what it feels like to run and bike.
I love gazing at my little angel boy asleep.
I love sitting in the sand, digging, filling up buckets, and creating "towers," just so Eamon can crush them down under either his hands or feet.
I love kisses and hugs from my boys.
I love blooming trees.



Wednesday, February 6, 2013

five pounds for one dollar

oranges.

deliciously sweet and juicy oranges.

we bought a bulging bag full of them.

now i'm wishing i would have gone for ten pounds.

because we'll polish off the rest tomorrow.


it's always nice to find a great buy like that because living here is not cheap.

Sunday, February 3, 2013

sleeping in?

The past few mornings I've woken up just before six and found myself unable to drift back to sleep.  My aching hips weren't even the culprit this morning--it was my spinning and swirling mind.

I think about this baby squirming around inside me.  I think about Eamon and Andrew.  I think about all our loved ones.

I think about what E and I are going to do to entertain ourselves (i.e. not die of boredom) this week.  

I think about these lines: "For women giving birth for the first time, labor usually lasts between 12 and 24 hours, with an average of 14 hours.  For women who have given birth before, labor usually lasts between four and eight hours, with an average of six hours" (from my pregnancy bible).  If I was "average" the first time around, I hope to follow the trend this time around.

I think about dumpster diving and how we found a chest of drawers last night outside by our garbage cans.  Score!  We also found a nice tall lamp that works.

I think about this talk about caregiving.

I think about how blessed we are, how blessed I am.  Usually I wish I could sleep until E wakes me up, but I  realize these quiet morning moments also bless me; it's nice to have some space and time to read, write, and think.  I know once this new little one comes, moments like these will be even more rare.  But oh how I can't wait to bask in the presence of such a newly born babe.

Happy Sabbath.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

german pancakes

Over a week ago, Eamon began his morning singing.  It could have been "Down by the Bay" or "Baa Baa Black Sheep" or something else entirely.  The point is, the kid is pretty happy when he wakes up in the morning, so it's not the most unpleasant task to open his door, walk over to his crib, tell him, "Good morning, Sunshine," lift him up and out, and kiss his neck.

After replacing his wet diaper with a clean and dry one, we made our way into the kitchen.  He has become quite an expert Whisk Holder, Flour Dumper, and Egg Beater.  Luckily we haven't had any major messes because he carefully mixes whatever we happen to be making.  Besides some flour here and there, it's usually a jolly good time with not too much mess.

First we mixed the white flour with the wheat.  Then we added the milk.  The most exciting part came next--eggs.  Eamon gets very excited about eggs.  Who wouldn't?  They're beautifully shaped and out of them comes such a gooey and colorful substance.  And when making German pancakes, you need at least six of them.  After taking turns at mixing, we added it to our hot and slightly buttered dish.

"Pancakes?  Pancakes?  Pancakes?"  He petitioned and questioned several times during the requisite waiting period.

"Soon, Hon, in a little bit they'll be done."

Done baking, the big fluffy pancake was taken out of the oven.  We topped our portions with Gramma Joyce's apple pie filling and some syrup.  I was taken straight back to Gramma and Grampa's house in Springville.  Gramma would fix us these after sleepover nights.  Oh my goodness, they are pretty much the best thing I've ever tasted.  It was the most scrumptious meal we've had in a long time.  Even Andrew was rather impressed.

We have enough apple topping for one more German pancake breakfast (we've enjoyed one other since this first one).  We will certainly cherish and enjoy it.

I now have a new goal: learn how to can Gramma's apple pie filling.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

a new year

We've been busy having good times.  The snow has piled high all around the house and we crunch our feet in it every time we go outside.

I thought I'd take a few moments to record things I'm grateful for of late:
  • Andrew changing E's diaper last night while we were in the JSMB.  (It's getting harder to wrestle that bug, especially with this growing belly.)
  • Walking on the track this morn as Marmee ran.
  • Going up to Temple Square last night with my boys, Josh, Ma, and Pa.  
  • Hearing Eamon say, "Big one Jesus," as he gazed up at the Christus.
Well, that's all I have time for now.  E just woke up, so more later, hopefully.  Happy new year!