Update and Random Pix

James loves brownie batter
Addie and Heidi had some after-school creative time in which they made these "monster trunks" and "monster toes."
James loves to look at our photos on the screen saver---he gets so excited to see his family and calls out our names as he sees us
This is James on Heidi's birthday--I had some things to do, so I turned on "Backyardigans" and gave him some popcorn and water. I heard him giggling, so I went to see what he was doing. He was just chillin' like this, laughing at the silly show.
It's the return of...

CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS!!!

James is obsessed with this particular pair of Heidi's underwear. He loves to wear them over his clothes.

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SHOUT OUT to Susan, my de-lurking old friend...welcome to the blogosphere!

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Last Wednesday (the day after Heidi's birthday) I woke up with a dull throbbing headache. I tried to take it easy that day and do things around the house, but my headache got worse and worse until it woke me up at 1am Friday. The pain was so bad it made me throw up and I couldn't keep down another dose of Excedrin migraine. I tried to stretch, ice, heat, etc... and nothing worked. I eventually woke Rich up and asked him to help massage it out, but that didn't help either, so he drove me to the ER around 3am.


I am sad that I went there because all they did was treat my dehydration, nausea, and pain, and they did NOTING to locate the source or the reason for the pain (this is why I HATE seeing MD's for pain! Pain is a message to fix something--I don't want to mask those messages until we know why they're there!). I got adjusted the next day and my chiro was furious that the ER doc hadn't even ordered an X-ray, so he did. He wrote up some notes for my regular doc and I told him I would meet with her the first week of May for my regular Grave's check up. The adjustment does help the pain--it's not excruciating, just chronic at this point. I haven't thrown up since last Sunday, but now I have some kind of cold that obviously involves a sinus infection. UGH!


SO ANYWAY....here's my plan. I am going to ask my doc to test for what ever other illnesses I may have that cause pain (MS, FM, RA, Lupus, etc). Meanwhile, I am going to ask for a physical therapy referral and I am going to find out what stretches and exercises I should be doing to strengthen what's hurting. Then I am going back to Curves where I will use the info from the PT to exercise properly (I know I will feel better if I exercise more, but lately all my efforts just cause more pain, so we gotta fix that). We'll see how it goes.

The Misses Dashwood

Jill called and told me to check out her new blog layout (love it) and take the Austen Girl quiz. I already knew that I AM Elinor Dashwood, but I took the quiz anyway...

Take the Quiz here!

Jill, you should know how much "Sense and Sensibility" is/was a part of my life with Erin, Heidi and Jeanne. First Jeanne and I had a class where we had to read some Austen books and we cracked jokes about them all the time and caught ourselves talking like the characters all the time. And then the movie of Sense & Sensibility came out when Erin, Heidi and I were roommates and we would just turn in to Dashwoods at the drop of a hat.

Edward Ferrars: I hope I find you all well.

Marianne: Thank you, Edward, we are all very well.

Margaret: We've been enjoying very fine weather. [Marianne nudges her]

Margaret: Well, we have.

Edward Ferrars: I'm glad to hear it. The roads were very... dry.

Erin used to write me letters about the weather and the roads all the time (because that is polite conversation!) and invite me to "come stay a fortnight"...it was great fun!

Too Much Cuteness!!!

We love you, Sariah & Kaylee, and hope you had FUN birthday celebrations!

We're so glad you were born!

THANKS, Uncle Spam & Special K!

Yesterday right before I went to work, we got a package in the mail from Phoenix...Heidi & Addie were so excited!

(Addie and I were having a beauty day, so she was fresh from a bubble bath)

Look at the pretty shirt Uncle Sam & Aunt Kristen got for Heidi in Hawaii!

SHAKA, BRA!

James sports his Jack Johnson look courtesy of S&K

This is Sam & Kristen in Laie(...I love that ukulele shirt!) SO CUTE!

All three kids say "THANK YOU!" Addie looks like a little surfer girl in her shirt...

We love our "Aloha" sign and the yummy chocolate macadamia nuts (that's what's all over the kids' faces in these pix). It was sentimental for us because Rich gave me chocolate macadamia nuts the night we met! Thanks for thinking of us!

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Heidi wore the dress that Grandma Rosalie made her to church today. I dont' know why it looks shiny in this photos because it's cottony with just a little sateen sheen...she looked sweet!

"Not That There's Anything Wrong With That..."

I have been listening to lots of discussion about the Texas raid on the FLDS-"YFZ"" Ranch, thinking about the legal/ civil liberties aspect of the case.

This is, of course, a touchy subject for me being a "mainstream" (REAL) LDS person--I think the general public has figured out that the LDS church is not like (and does not condone) these polygamist groups. Although I oppose polygamy and I HEART the Rule of Law (and obeying it per The Articles of Faith), I can't help but wonder at the hypocrisy of taking legal action against its practioners. And although I oppose polygamy, am descended from my great-great-grandfather's seventh wife, who was loved and well-cared for all her life.

I think it's unfair to other polygamists for the FLDS to get so much publicity focused on the polygamy when the problem is the underage marriage and sexual abuse, not the actual plural marriages. The FLDS do some scary, just-plain-wrong stuff (like bleeding the beast, not supporting their wives and children, etc). So I think it is important, as the Texas officials have said, to separate the abuse issues from the polygamy issues, because at this point, opostition to polygamy has no legal leg to stand on.

If the Supreme Court can repeal anti-sodomy laws because it's nobody's business what we do in the privacy of our homes as consenting adults, that argument can stretch to cover a myriad of activities ("rights"), the least bizarre of which is polygamy. I wondered if anyone else has noticed this weird hypocrisy, and I googled this article. Turns out the argument was made years ago. And, PS, how can California tell me how to educate my children when I am free to do what I want in my own home? (Well, they can't tell ME--I don't live there and never will--but I mean its citizens). It's really lame.

I guess the same argument can be made with the abortion issue--you either believe the government has no place in your personal business, or you believe they can tell you what to do. For the record I believe in the "Rape, Incest, Mother's Health" law, and I don't believe any public funds should be used to end human life under any other circumstances. But that just leaves so much open to interpretation. It's really hard to define all this stuff, but I am always in favor of judicial restraint--less government, less regulation is generally better when it comes to our homes, families, and income.

Also, another little strain of sympathy I have for polygamists comes from this thought: So, it's okay to be a Baby Daddy as may times as you want/ can afford (and by okay, I mean legal), but don't even think about marrying, housing, supporting, etc. your Baby Mama(s) because THAT would be illegal. HUH? I know we can jump in with lots of arguments about protecting the sanctity of marriage--one man + one woman in a religious context, married before God--and I happen to be all for that. In my mind, marriage is religious and civil unions can/ should be something outside of the religious union in the civil/legal arena. If you defend 'traditional' monogamous marriage, you have to condemn gay marriage AND polygamy. If you oppose traditonal marriage, then polygamy and gay marriage are fine. But you can't pick and choose, legally speaking.

So I'm trying to have as much integrity as possible in my views. I believe that my government should protect me and our constitution, promote my genereal welfare, and put up no road blocks in my pursuit of happiness (how I worship, educate my children, take care of my body, entertain myself, etc). I believe it should be up to me and my neighbors to care for those around us and meet the needs of the less fortunate--not up to the government. I believe we should be free to choose what goes on in our own homes as long as it upholds the constitution and doesn't impede others in their pursuit of happiness. We are free to choose the actions and accept the consequences without whining for a bail out or a special break. I wish the states and the Supreme Court would get all of this stuff in a straight line, too. Privacy, marriage, civil liberties, parental rights, etc...our governing principles have to be evenly and fairly applied; we cannot pick and choose to have government intervene against one lifestyle choice while supporting--or even promoting--another.

Spring School Pictures

We purchased portraits of all three kids from Addie's Elementary school since we have hardly any portraits of them. I was slightly horrified when I saw the backdrops, but they didn't turn out so bad. So check out my cuties and right click to download these pix to your computer...

Yesterday in Bozeman

I forgot to mention that it was an almost-record 74 degrees and sunny on Monday, then on Tuesday we woke up to a high of 50-ish and THIS: Here's the snow in Bozeman pass...




...and here's the snow in downtown Bozo (this is where we had dinner, Lisaree--remember?)
Snowy trees on main Street
Snowy tree at Nova Cafe...

Gotta love spring time in Montana!

Pencil Me In

Heidi's birthday got crazy-busy yesterday! Even I was exhausted at the end of the day!

Here's the rough itinerary: 8am breakfast and gift with family, 8:30am Pre-school (where she had a little party with chocolate chip muffins and juice provided by mom), 11am Haircut at Root 66, 12noon Happy Meal lunch with Daddy, 12:30pm Date with Aunt Debbie Holm (shopped for bday treat), 2pm pick up Addie and Daddy to go to matinee in Bozeman, 2:45 visit bookstore while waiting for movie, 3:15-4:45 watched "Horton Hears a Who", 5:30pm dinner at Grandma's with Gray cousins, 6:30pm cake & presents, 7:30om phone date with Aunt Lisa, Uncle Will, and Uncle Sam who were all together in Phoenix, 7:45pm-CRASHED!

I am sad that I didn't take pictures of Heidi's haircut, lunch date, and treat date with Aunt Deb, but here are some pix of our other activities...

Birthday girl in the Hundred Acre Wood at the bookstore
Browsing for books
Melin Kids with the Horton Poster
Heidi loves Horton (This book was my favorite when I was a little girl, too--I loved the message). Daddy, Heidi, and Addie waiting forthe movie to start

Grandma Rosalie made this darling cake for Heidi--she's so sweet!

She also made Heidi a beautiful new dress for her birthday, but somehow I didn't get a picture of her holding it up...? I'll take one when she wears it.

After a spaghetti dinner, the kids gathered round to sing Happy Birthday...
Heidi LOVED her elephant cake!!!!
Hannah, Rosalie, Danny, Heidi, and Addie

TIME FOR PRESENTS! This cute elephant bench was Heidi's first gift from mom & dad...(isn't the summer stuff at Target ADORABLE!?! It took all my will power not to buy the lady bug garden clogs and umbrella!)
To go with the bench, here's an elephant sprinkler for summer fun!
And an elephant throw blanket from IKEA (click)--it goes with the bedding we have planned for Heidi's new room. (And here's Addie's)

The Grays gave Heidi this "vintage" elephant penny bank--it's really cute how the pennies drop down the trunk.
James likes Heidi's bench! (He's sitting on it right now watching Sesame Street)
James and Rosalie try out Heid's Bench.

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What a fun day! Thanks everyone who helped celebrate our Sunshine Girl!

(and thanks for all the pre-birthday gifts from Aunt Amie -dance outfit, Nana-bag of fun elephant stuff, and Great-Grandma & pa Elrey-birthday card and dollar).

HEIDI ROCKS!

FOUR years ago today, at ten minutes to ten in the evening, Miss Heidi Lynn took her first breath and lit up our lives! We began today's celebration with a banner, balloons, and breakfast for the birthday girl.
Her Royal Sleepiness donned her crown and opened a small gift from the fam and a darling baby doll from Aunt Jill before getting ready for pre-school and eating breakfast. Addie was, of course, coaching her from the sidelines...
...Here are my girls on 04/17/04...Sweet Sisters!
Happy Birthday, Heidi-Lynners!

Mom and Dad love you so much and we're so proud of how sweet and fun you are and all the good choices you have been making! We're so glad you were born to our family!

--More updates to come!--

Happy Birthday, Heidi Lynn

Aunt Lisa is sending you these fabulous "anamalz"--hope you have a fun day!

Amigos

I was just listening to that one Genesis song that totally sounds like a Peter Gabriel song, but Peter Gabriel was out of Genesis when it came out--you know, the "Follow you, will you follow me?" song? It's so pretty and I was really surprised when I found out it WASN'T a PG song. Anywya, it warms my heart. It just now made me feel how lucky (no, blessed!) I am. I have a sweet and rich life because it is interwoven with some of the finest people to ever walk the earth. And my husband just plain ROCKS.

I was wondering the other day if I were weird for feeling so deeply about the death of someone else's child, a little girl I never met in person. And then I had this little "aha" moment. There are many great reasons for truly loving other people, for creating real and lasting relationships inside and outside of our families--there's the whole baptismal covenant of bearing one another's burdens, mourning with those who mourn and comforting eachother, etc., and there are all the obvious benefits of having awesome people to hang out with, to roadtrip with, to compare parenting tips and gospel insights with, to help you be better, to share your load, etc. But here's another thing I realized: when we love eachother deeply and unabashedly, we can experience so much more in life. Because we are empathizing and truly sharing one another's burdens, we gain experience not just from our own tribulations, but those of our loved ones. And the more people you love and share with, the more you learn and grow, and before you know it, you're on the path to perfect charity, the pure love of Christ which endureth forever. Thank you, friends, for sharing your joys and sorrows with me so I can grow.

I love the promise that the same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us There. What a wonderful party that will be!!!