Once again, I've fallen behind. We're midway through December and I'm finally catching up on November. Believe me, there is a TON to catch up on.
First of all, the Packards moved, which was hideous. We had one last (first) breakfast with the girls and pedicures to celebrate our friendship. We watched the boys the night before they left, then they came over for dessert and to say goodbye. We cried.
A few days later we packed up Big Red and drove to California. We spent a couple days with Nana and Papa, then headed north to San Francisco. Hannah fell in love with the Golden Gate Bridge over the summer and Adam really wanted to go to a professional NFL game, so we made both dreams come true in one fell swoop. We went to Alamo Square, Pier 39, Children's Fairyland in Oakland, and walked across the bridge. Allie and Jeff were with us for most of the time, so that was fun to be with them. We ate at Bubba Gump Shrimp which is something I've always wanted to do.
The next week Allie and Hanley came to Vegas so we could attend Time Out for Women. It was such a spiritual lift and just what I needed! Adam babysat Hanley and it was difficult because she's a mama's girl, and she wasn't feeling well, but I so appreciate Adam surprising me with the tickets and giving me a mommy's day out. He's a very thoughtful husband.
We went to Utah for Thanksgiving. The girls had so much fun at the Treehouse Museum, the train museum, City Creek, visiting family, eating "the feast" and having a Christmas party. My mom always does a great job taking care of her kids and grandkids and making holidays special!
From Facebook:
This morning I enjoyed a breakfast/pedicure with some friends, then Adam just went out to take the girls to Shark Reef and the park with his mom, so I get a few hours to myself while Sam naps to continue my relaxing morning and catch up on some much wanted reading time.
If you've never lived away from your home state/family for an extended period of time/permanently you can't really understand what it means when your best friends move away from you. I don't know if I can even understand it myself. All I know is we are saying goodbye to the biggest support system I've ever had outside blood relatives. I'm so grateful for my small Las Vegas family which is made up of wonderful families that we love and appreciate, so it is heartbreaking when a branch of that family is leaving. We aren't saying goodbye to some fun people who we enjoy hanging out with. We are saying goodbye to our lifeline.
Books make me feel all the things. I just got punched in the heart once again by J.K. Rowling.
Megan Christensen (upon receiving correspondence from me): How much do you want to bet you had to look up how to spell 'Orioles.'
Me: Not only did I have to look up the spelling of Orioles; I also had to look up to make sure which sport they played: baseball or football.
Sisters for the win.
I swear Paige is three going on thirteen. I just contradicted
Adam and in true daddy's girl fashion she said, "Stop talking to him. You're weird, and you don't know everything."
Oy.
So excited for our weekend trip to San Francisco. Hannah will finally get to see the Golden Gate Bridge she has been waiting her whole life to see (more like 3 months) and I will attend my first NFL game (Broncos vs Raiders).
Yesterday at Children's Fairyland Paige got lost. We were apart for about ten minutes, and while I was panicking I found a worker who asked if I was Melissa. Apparently Paige wound up at the front with some workers. She told them that her Mommy's name was Melissa, she was wearing a purple sweater with a black shirt, jeans, and black sunglasses. Putting total faith in the system and in me, Paige was completely unfazed. Not bad for a three year old.
One of my favorite stories of my mom is when she wrote a letter to my dad while he was on a mission, detailing an encounter with a recently divorced friend. She wrote that this man took her out to eat. He bought her a meal and they spent several hours having a nice time together. She said that he seemed to be doing fine since the divorce and she thought that he and his ex were possibly "seeing others!" When we read the letter thirty years later all of us looked at my mom and said, "Yeah, the "others" was you! You were totally on a date with him!" My mom has a total innocence about her that few people have. I love my mom!
I'm inspired to embrace the unique qualities that make my children who they are...even when those qualities make me want to check myself into a mental hospital.
A very special thank you to my sweet husband
Adam who made it possible for
Allie Elms and I to attend Time Out for Women. It was spiritually nourishing, just what the doctor ordered.
Booking our flights for our first vacation alone together since 2009.
— with Adam Turney.
While snuggling with my son I thought to myself: I hope my future daughter-in-law doesn't mind when I drive across town with my ladder in tow, climb in through their window, crawl across their floor, and pick him up and rock him back and forth Robert Munch style.
I've just finished the Harry Potter series for the fourth time (...in it's entirety...though I've read some of the books a lot more than that) and now I'm really sad--HAHA! At least I read it along with my sister and we can experience post-Potter depression together. Reparo: my heart!
The Language of Flowers is about a woman who can communicate through the secret Victorian language of flowers. She can change people's lives by the flower arrangements she creates. I had a dream last night that I had this gift, but with milkshakes. The ingredients I put into the milkshakes had the power to transform people's attitudes and perspective. I woke up thinking that was a pretty cool gift, but then I realized: that is what regular milkshakes do on a daily basis.
I'm grateful for my eternal marriage to
Adam. I'm grateful for the man that he is, and the life he provides for me.
I'm grateful for my three wonderful children. For their health and vivacious spirits, and the joy they bring into our home.
I'm grateful for wonderful parents and siblings who give us support and love, and provide those things for our children. I'm also grateful for the extended family members who also provide a foundation of love.
I'm grateful for friends who teach and inspire me, who love my kids and make me laugh.
I'm grateful for our LDS community past and present. You've shaped us and served us.
I'm grateful for my educational opportunities, both formal and informal. I'm especially grateful for all the books I've read, and my endless list of "to be read" that teach me empathy and culture and eternal truths.
Most of all, I'm grateful to my Savior, Jesus Christ. Because of Him, I can become more than I am, I can enjoy all the blessings I've mentioned (for now, and through eternity). I feel his love, and I hope I can always be an example of the believers.
I'm reading a wonderfully fascinating book called Stiff, about the scientific contributions of human cadavers, and how human remains have been used for research in the medical field and criminology. It really is incredible, though I'm worried I'm not going to get much reading done today, since I can barely stomach the book while I'm not eating. I just have to say, it's increases my faith in the wonderful world of science, and in God.
One thing I love about Utah is a temple within twenty minutes of wherever you are and churches within walking distance. Adam and I had the chance to serve in the recently renovated and rededicated Ogden temple. I'm so grateful to live in a city with a temple!
That moment when your best friend becomes your worst enemy... A couple of very large books fell on my foot and I'm nine thousand percent sure there is a broken bone in there now...
Seriously though... I think my foot is broken... Why is it that my biggest injuries always involve books? Is it because I'm such a star reader?
Just now when I got up to take care of Sam it was excruciatingly painful to walk to get him, and now it feels like my foot/ankle/lower leg is on fire
— feeling pained.
That moment when you hear a Christmas song that you've been listening to for 30 years and the lyrics finally make sense. "We'll face unafraid, the plans that we've made," not "We'll faceana fray the plans that we may..." Walking in a winter wonderland.
Just one of those days that nothing seemed to go right... Kids didn't obey at all and talked back all day making us crazy, angry parents, we half decorated for Christmas but the kids drove us nuts so now it looks like a holiday threw up in my house, I am teaching preschool this week and I'm not feeling prepared, trying to settle back home after half a month out town, I have about seventeen things on my to do list tomorrow and no idea where to start...
