On Wednesday

My brother Michael got his mission call on Wednesday! Like a lot of crazy Mormon families, we had been taking bets on where he'd be going (not real bets, sillies, because that would be very UN-Mormon, as if we had not listened to April conference AT ALL!). (Another aside: lots of LDS young people--19 year old boys and 21 year old girls--volunteer to serve missions; when you apply, you send in your papers and they can send you ANYWHERE out of like 350 missions in the world--it's just crazy opening that envelope to see where you will be for TWO WHOLE YEARS).

Enough parentheses--anyway, I placed my bet on Tacoma, Washington, and GUESS WHERE MIKE IS GOING?! You guessed it! Well, actually, I guessed it. Michael heads to the Empty Sea (MTC: Missionary Training Center) on August 31st to prepare to serve in WASHINGTON TACOMA.

So what did I win? Where's Ed McMahon?? Is it a car? A vacation? Oh, I could use a vacation...

Just kidding. Congratulations, Mike. Buckle your seatbelt; it's quite the ride.


PS: HAPPY CINCO de MAYO! We ate Mexican food all day to celebrate, and Heidi finally had her one year check-up. She's bright and healthy--she weighs 25 pound 10 ounces and she is 31 inches tall. That's like the 110th and 80th percentiles, respectively, so she has to go on a baby diet ("less milk and juice") and exercise ("she'll thin out when she learns to walk better") program. That's my roly poly girl!

Our Week in Pictures [4.25-5.01]

For family night this week, we PAINTED THE GIRLS' ROOM! Addie has been waiting for months to "paint her pink room," so she was way excited. We took them home and cleaned them up and I went back and painted more upstairs until midnight (no pix of that yet). Addie was a good painter!

Look at her go! 

SILLY!! I think the paint fumes were getting to Addie!

Heidi cheered us on as we painted... 

Addie showing Heidi how it's done (Heidi was in their closet). 

There's Addie sitting on her window sill watching the neighbors on their deck.

Mom and Addie finish off the room! 

May 1st--Remember how we always made up silly games and did crazy stuff when we were supposed to be taking a Sunday nap? My girls are already starting! We found them giggling in one of the entertainment center cabinets last night.

Makes a nice cage, huh? 

Thoughts for the Day

Leave it to Emerson to have said something I have been trying to find words for.

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Oh, yeah. Chew on that while I try to find time to write between painting the new house, babysitting, laundry, housework, Young Women, Ward Dinner preparations for tonight, Fast Sunday combined YW lesson, packing, and--oh, yeah, personal hygeine. Do I really have to get DRESSED today? Where will I pencil THAT in?

Lest I sound whiny, here is a quote I am painting on my laundry room wall this week (courtesy of Aunt Marti):

"May we never be discouraged in doing those daily tasks that God has ordained the common lot of man." --Joseph Fielding Smith

More soon...