"I Can't Believe My Eyes!"

Heidi handed me this picture last night and said, "Look, mom--she's saying 'I can't believe my eyes!'" She slays me.

An Interview With Heidi

Copied this from Jill...interview conducted at 8:39am on December 4th:

1. What is something mom always says to you? Uh, I love you
2. What makes mom happy? Doing good things
3. What makes mom sad? Doing bad choices
4. How does mom make you laugh? Funny Faces
5. What was mom like as a child? You were like me. You were a little crazy and you liked to hold hamsters
6. How old is your mom? 28
7. How tall is your mom? 68
8. What is her favorite thing to do? Snuggle with her little Lynners
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? Go on a nap or take care of Bubby
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? Getting in graduations
11. What is your mom really good at? Making cookies
12. What is your mom not very good at? I don’t know
13. What does your mom do for her job? Washing clothes and dishes and the hotel
14. What is your mom's favorite food? Guacamole
15. What makes you proud of your mom? Doing reaaly, really good things
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Conny-nonny-jo
17. What do you and your mom do together? We play together and bake muffins
18. How are you and your mom the same? We both have some work to do (spoken like a true Melin!)
19. How are you and your mom different? We are different girls, and I am small and she is big
20. How do you know your mom loves you? Because you’re Jamie Melin, you’re my mommy.

Love Came Down at Christmas

On the first day of Christmas, Jamie gave to you...

a really fun Christmas song/video to watch

{inspired by Rob & Geo's '07 Christmas card, which I have just framed and hung as part of our holiday decor...LOVE SHALL BE OUR TOKEN!}

My Practice Baby

Check out this post aboout my darling niece...that photo of her just kills me! Isn't she lovely???I can't believe she's growing into a young woman so fast. Ally, we love you so much. We know the past couple of years have been challenging, and the challenges will continue, but you can keep your faith strong and remember who you are and how many people love and support you. Then you can overcome anything and keep excelling. It was so great to watch you and Addie have so much fun together last week. I am grateful she gets to have such a cool cousin to be her example and friend! Have a great birthday!

'Til We Meet Again...

Rest in peace, Elder Wirthlin.

Behold The Cuteness, Christmas edition

Here are the Melin kids before church today...so sweet.

We had a nice Thanksgiving dinner with my SIL's family across the street (we're so happy to have the Grays back as neighbors--how fun to have cousins across the street!). Rich & Mike put Christmas lights up on the house, the kids ran wild with their cousins, and I got some Christmas and Primary stuff in order. We have enjoyed Christmas music and movies and decorating every night of the Thanksgiving break. Know what I am really feeling thankful for? Snuggling up with my girls for a long winter's nap two days in a row (Saturday and Sunday, while Rich took a turn enjoying the quiet and finishing his own projects--he is so awesomly productive). I swear there's nothing better! They make a "mommy sandwich" under our big flannel camping quilt and we watch a Christmas movie until we all fall asleep, and then we wake up as the sun is setting after 4pm. Then we get back to work on "Christma-fying" the house, staying up late doing more decorating, gift-making or wrapping, or house-organizing for the coming festivities. I wish we could do that everyday! I am so in love with my family.

Utah 11.21-11.23

After I went to the doctor, Addie celebrated her 7th birthday with her cousins James, Addie, Ally, and the Tinkerbell cake
Addie's new Barbie movie

Addie's new Barbie

Addie's new sweater (and she got cute bracelets from Ally and from Melanie)

Cousins! Liam, Ben, Belle, Heidi, Ally;

James, Spencer, Melanie, Maeby; Addie

Before the doctor on Friday, we went to lunch at Chadders in AF. Here's Ben eating his burger.

Heidi and Jack has so much fun together!

Daddy & James (Addie is behind James holding up her shake).

***

On Saturday after the girls' brinch and the boys' trip to Cabella's (and a nap), we headed down to Provo for the wedding reception of Christian Buchert & Amy Holt.

James & Addie love to boogie

Ya gotta love my face in this pic--I am enjoying the company of the lovely Becca Buchert.
I am sad to report that this is the only photo we took of the bride and groom (but you can see them in their beauty here and here). This is "Big Heidi" and "Little Heidi" checking out the wedding cake.

Here's Auntie Georgia and wee Anna Buchert (Becca & Martin's sweet baby)

James hugging Auntie Heidi (she came to the wedding from New York and had never met James)

Heidis Hugging

Again, not sure what face I am making there, but Addie and I are sure happy to see Heidi!

[when I get a minute, I will write in more detail about our little mommy slumber party after the reception...my joy at hanging with the Buchert girls was monumental--I love them so much, tho we really missed Becca and Georgia and Joh!]
On the way home on Sunday, we stopped to eat at IKEA, and Heidi found this giant elephant (which we have been looking for for 2 years). Who could resist? Santa came early, and Heidi snuggled him all the way home.

November in Retrospect

I just realized while uploading last week's pictures that I haven't unloaded my camera ALL MONTH. So here's what we did at the beginning of November: Daddy & James hung out
James played dress ups with his sisters on Parent-Teacher
conference day (11/7) when everyone was home from school.

Poor guy...that's a skirt on his head.

On PTC day, Heidi and Addie were very busy being fairies and crafting all manner of stuff down at the craft table.

On the first Thursday of each month, Daddy has to go to Bozeman to lead the Emergency Preparedness Committee, so I let the kids choose dinner. Usually it's ramen or stir fry, but for some reason they've been asking for Kid Cuisine since Rich let them choose fromzen dinners a few months ago. Well, being the sly mom that I am, I saved the trays and I made chicken nuggets, chocolate pudding, corn, oranges and cottage cheese an served them up Kid Cuisine style. Nobody knew the difference.
I took a picture of these canisters because I finally threw them away. We bought them at Williams-Sonoma when we got married, used the mixes, then refilled them with Bisquick and used them for decoration above our cabinets in every home. I love the graphics, but I am going for less clutter, so it's a fond farewell to our little WS friends.

Addie had a fun cookie-decorating play date with her friend Kendall on 11/12

Addie hates it when Heidi tags along

Kendall, Addie, and Heidi making cookies.
James hiding from his sisters under my desk

My doctor gave these glasses to James when he came with me to my last appointment. Heidi looks awesome in them!

And so does Addie!

Oh, To Grace How Great a Debtor Daily I'm Constrained to Be!

My heart feels full of thanks today as I prepare for Thanksgiving. If I find a moment, I will pour it out, but in case I don't, let Mr. Nielson show you what gratitude looks like...wow (CLICK HERE).

Georgia's Meme

Way back last month Geo posted a meme that I wanted to do but couldn't find time. Well, now I am making time, and I may have to write in segments, but I'm gonna do it.

What Were You Doing 10 Years Ago?
In November 1998, I had just moved back to AZ after a very brief stint in Utah post-graduation. I was hanging out at the condo again, with University Ward friends, the Wright Brothers, Tom, Lyz, Nic, Adriane, etc...working at alphagraphics and in a reading lab at U of A, registering for some graduate classes. On November 25, 1998, I see that I went to see Life is Beautiful with Aaron and Andrew Wright, at my suggestion, and we all agreed it was the best movie we had ever seen. Here is a journal excerpt from around that time:

My thoughts seem to be around my ankles today
Over the weekend they
passed before me like a tired
parade...
There he stood
And he smiled
and he gave me just a taste of it
And he pulled me out of my head
And he
reached into me
And he took me far from here...
-Sun 60
Man, the Leonid meteor shower sure did work its mojo in the Old Pueblo last night! Lyzzie met a nice molecular bio student sitting onthe hood of his car in Reddington Pass...ahhh! Jamie (that' s me) stepped out of her convent and had a night of cinematic love...Dig, if you will: Midnight on the trampoline under clear, starry skies. The air is crisp, 45 degrees, and I am snuggled up with all the boys listening to "Dark Side of the Moon" and suddenly I am drawn to X like a magnet, so we snuggle like crazy...X says we're friends and he doesn't want anyone to get hurt or anything, and I say, "Rock on, dude, kiss me anyway," so he does and I can live on that for weeks.

21 NOV 98/10am:...I am waiting for Adriane. She and Celeste and I are going
to see the wedding dress she chose. It should be super fun cuz I love those
girls. 2pm: Home from the girly date with joyous news! (a) Adriane found a
dreamy dress and (b) Celeste is pregnant and due in July!

It really was a weird time in my life, but also very fun, with a steep learning curve. In retrospect, of course, I can totally see the scene being set for me to meet Rich almsot two years later, but it all seemed like a twisting, crazy road while I was on it!

What Were You Doing 20 Years Ago?

November 1988 was about the middle of the worst year of my life so far. Even 20 years later I feel sick just thinking about it. I had just turned 17, my parents were divorcing, and suffice it to say that my prayers usually consisted of about 10 minutes of crying and then asking Heavenly Father to please take me back, to let me die.

However, even with all the sadness, there was the beginning of my knowledge that God is always looking out for me. At the end of that month, my grandparents unexpectedly came home from their mission in Africa because my grandmother had contracted a nearly-fatal case of malaria. To my great relief and joy, they arrived home in time for Thanksgiving, and boy did I give thanks. While comparing notes with my grandmother, we found that within a matter of hours of each other, both of us had admitted defeat in life's trials: I was kneeling with an unbearably heavy heart at my bedside in Arizona, and she was lying--deathly ill and helpless--in a hospital bed in England. As we both begged for relief, Heavenly Father told her, "You have to go home and save the children."

So she did.

What Were You Doing on 9/11?

We were living in Draper, just married 7 months, 7 months pregnant. We were awakened around 7am by a call from my little brother Michael, who was home in California while my mom & stepdad were in Ohio. He was watchign teh news and was scared about the attacks, and about our brother Matt, who was serving a mission in New York City. We switched on the Today show and watched just after the second plane hit. The first words out of my mouth were, "Osama bin Laden"--seriously! Just a minute or two after we turned on the TV, President Bush came on and said it was an apparent terrorist attack.

I was horrified and worried about my brother. My parents were supposed to fly home to Cali from Ohio that day. I didn't want to go to work. I was supposed to write all these motivational, inspiring emails touting our company's big upcoming reward weekend at the Grand Wailea, and I didn't think it was going to happen with all the air traffic stopped. I called my work and they made me come in anyway.

Driving from Draper to Lindon was spooky. The highway was almost empty and the sky was, too. I spent the morning on the phone with my brother, the missionary in NYC (he was at the laundromat in Harlem watching the smoke and ash fill Manhattan), and I sent out those stupid emails. My whole afternoon was spent writing a NEW email postponing the reward weekend (duh). "Sunday Bloody Sunday" by U2 ran through my head all day long..."I can't close my eyes and make it go away..."

The most difficut thing was attending my first childbbirthing class at Alta View hospital that night. Everyone in the class was visibly shaken about bringing babies into an obviously different world. And I think we had good reason: although my daughter has enjoyed a happy home and family, her country has been at war her entire life. She knows about terrorists and jihad and supporting the troops and threat levels, all things I never knew as a Cold War kid.

What Were You Doing 5 Years Ago? That's easy--you can read about it HERE.

What Were Doing 1 Year Ago?-Click HERE.

Yesterday:

Today:

Tomorrow:

Coming Soon...

Weekend Update! We had so much fun in Utah, and my Addie is now SEVEN YEARS OLD! There's lots to say and some more photos, but for now...

Two Heidis Collide!

Heidi Melin and Heidi Egan finally met one another this weekend...Heidi Melin is totally in love with "Big Heidi"...I LOVE IT!