Dancing with Daffodils

I am feeling pretty sorry for myself. My husband is out of town. My daughter has been sick for four days which included fevers, coughing, throwing up because she was coughing so hard and then the dreaded pink eye. My baby also had a fever and wouldn't let me put him down for two days.  Now he has pink eye. I hate pink eye! It is the worst sickness to have in the house because you have to go to the doctor for it (something I try to avoid) and it spreads so easily, especially when a baby has it who doesn't understand why I freak out whenever he touches his eye. I haven't left the house all week except to go to the doctor. My three-year-old has been particularly whiny and demanding this week and I'm pretty sure she hasn't said a single sentence that didn't start with "I want" or if I was asking her to do something, "I don't want".  To top it all off, I have this dreaded feeling that I am pregnant, which I don't particularly want to be. I...

Thirteen years ago today I woke up so nervous and excited. Three of my favorite friends helped me with my makeup and hair and then my fiance came and picked me up and we all went to the Palmyra New York temple together. I went in and put on my wedding dress and walked into a room where my family and some of my closest friends were waiting. My fiance and I knelt down at an alter and made sacred promises to each other and to God and we were sealed together as a family unit for time and all eternity. Mirrors behind each of us reflected our images countless times, symbolizing the eternal nature of our marriage and future family. It was the most beautiful moment of my life. We walked out of the temple as husband and wife to greet more family and friends. All of my sisters wore purple dresses and there were yellow flowers on all of the tables. I carried a bouquet of yellow roses. We took a bunch of pictures (once the photographer finally showed up) and then headed to a local church for a s...

I found out in the same day that two of my best friends are moving away. Both of them are leaving at the end of this month and I already feel the gaping hole in my life. One of these women was my first friend when we moved here 7 years ago. We've spent hours watching each other's children, eaten countless meals together, we've celebrated many birthdays and even a few Thanksgivings with each other. We've explored D.C. together and gone away on girl weekends. We've talked for hours and hours and hours and know a lot about each other. Between us we've given birth to six children while we've been friends and helped each other through challenges. She is sensitive and kind and our hearts and families have intertwined around each other the past 7 years in a special way. It will be sad to say goodbye when they move across the country in two weeks. My other friend moved here 3 years ago and I instantly liked her and her family. We have been serving together in our ...

My family recently moved into a bigger and more forever kind of home. When we came here seven years ago we had very little money and an eight-month-old baby girl. We were so grateful to get the beautiful house we were able to purchase and we loved living in it. It was in a small and friendly neighborhood and we backed up to the woods and we made many memories there. Last spring I had decided that it was time to come up with a plan and start looking for a larger home that would meet the needs of our larger family. Through a series of events, we found a home in late August, put ours on the market by the end of September and closed on both houses just a few days before Christmas. It was incredibly busy and stressful and I am just now beginning to process the emotion of it all. I am sentimental and get attached easily to people and things. I loved our old house. I brought three babies home to that house. I had my first little garden, hosted many baby showers and Christmas parties, and la...

Saturday mornings are my favorite time with my family.  My husband and I sleep in a bit while the kids wake up and play quietly in someone's room until we get up. When we go to get the kids, they are always so happy to see their dad and have him around for morning time. Sometimes I get up first and get the kids while he stays in bed and then they all love to go in and jump on him and give him kisses to wake up. Wrestling, tickling and laughter often ensues on those days. Once we're all up we head downstairs, still in our pajamas, and get started on a fun breakfast. Pancakes are my favorite, but my husband makes amazing French toast and waffles too. Sometimes we have German pancakes or egg sandwiches but those are usually our Sunday fare. We crank up the Saturday morning playlist and get to work.  Yesterday I made smoothies for the kids while my husband made waffles and the kids set the table. It is the only day of the week we eat breakfast all together so it is always fun t...

It has been quite a month. I missed two days but it has been a good experience to write every day and think back on my life and the experiences I've had that have been important, good or instructive. On this last day of November and my blogging extravaganza, I want to look forward to the future and list what I hope to experience someday. In no particular order: 1. Europe. I really want to go to Europe and do some serious exploring. Bring on Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. I want to see the Nuschwanstein castle, eat pizza next to a canal in Venice, climb the Eiffel Tower, eat French cheese, see the Matterhorn, visit the Sistine Chapel and swim in the Mediterranean Sea. I'd love to go back to England too and see it all over again. 2. Celebrate our first Christmas in our new house. This year is so weird because we're moving right before the holiday so no decorating, no time to bake, no setting up the electric train or the advent calendar and no huge Dou...

I was a senior in high school walking out of my AP English class when this nice boy who sat in front of me followed me out of class and asked me out on a date. It was my first official date and it happened on November 21, 1997. We immediately hit it off and went on a second date that I didn't think went very well. He was very indecisive and didn't really have a plan for the evening and it was kind of lame. But we had good phone conversations regularly and for lengthy periods of time so we went on a third date. By then it was Christmas and he sent me the most beautiful roses I had ever seen. I was incredibly embarrassed though because my parents were living in Boise at the time but were home for Christmas and I hadn't really told them about him so they teased me for weeks. We didn't see much of each other over Christmas break because I was busy with my family and volleyball practice. We spent a lot of time together in January and held hands for the first time while at...