Good Friends

I wrote earlier about Doug and his support these past few weeks, but I didn't mention some other people who were just as wonderful.

I was so nervous that I wouldn't make any friends when we moved here. I'm a tad strange and it takes a special person to, uh, how do you say, get me. Well, just two months after moving in, Tricia moved next door. Well, it takes a special person to "get her", so of course we hit it off right away. Since then more and more wonderful women have moved into our complex and through them I've gotten to know many more women in our ward.

Well, this is a tribute to those who have helped me through this week, either knowingly, or unknowingly.

Tricia--Thank you for the ride, the support, and the punch to my backbone that I needed. You always help me get angry enough at the situation so I can prepare myself to stand up to the problem. You are a fantastic neighbor and an even better friend. Thanks for always letting me in your door, even when Mason is throwing up all over your house.

Elaine--What can I say? You are so sweet to step in and take my kids so I can run all over the place. I can always count on you in a pinch. You listen to my ramblings on the phone and are sweet to at least pretend to care. Lets face it, you make birthdays FABULOUS!

Emily--Thanks for being my sounding board. Plus, you are such a great listener. It is always so hard to stop talking because you always listen so carefully. I appreciate your help the other day and for being a treasure trove of ideas. This baby that's coming into your family is the luckiest spirit in Heaven right now.

Amanda--The other day I really couldn't face reality and come home. You let me stay at your house for longer than I'm sure you would have liked. It was hard to tear myself away from the comfort I felt in your home. Thank you for not booting me out the door.

Sierra--You've been so great at just letting me pop in. Today when I was bubbling with excitement because the call went good you were there to listen and congratulate. I needed someone to talk to and you were right there. Thank you so much for letting me talk, even though we were cooling down your house by leaving the door open.

Anyway, thanks to all my friends here in Philadelphia! I can't write a personal note to all of you, but I adore you all and your friendships make living here so much easier. I wouldn't be able to do it without you.

What's Your Color?

What's Your True Color?

My Result: Green

You're green, the color of growth and vigor. Good-hearted and giving, you have a knack for finding and bringing out the best in people. Green is the most down-to-earth color in the spectrum — reliable and trustworthy. People know they can count on you to be around in times of need, since your concern for people is genuine and sincere. You take pride in being a good friend. For you, success is measured in terms of personal achievement and growth, not by status or position. Rare as emeralds, greens are wonderful, natural people. It truly is your color!

A Thank You to Doug

I'm going to take this opportunity to thank Doug for being so wonderful these past few weeks. Due to our circumstances we've had to use public assistance since moving here in August 2006. We had to renew this month and it has been something that has stressed me beyond my limits to handle. Without all the gorey details, I just have to give credit to Doug for stepping up to the plate these past couple of weeks. I've basically been useless, but he's helped in every way possible. He helped me create my Sharing Time lesson, he ate leftovers for days, and he held me when I just needed to be held.

Well, today he came home and offered support when I needed it most. Now it is all done and we should be good for another six months. I can't express how happy I am.

Doug--I love you babe! I just want the world to know how great you are, well at least those who read this blog.

Do Brick Boats Float?

Last night we were reading out of the the Book of Mormon Reader about the story of the brother of Jared. It was talking about how the Lord told the brother of Jared to come up with a way to light the barges.

"The brother of Jared told the Lord that the barges were dark inside. The Lord asked him to think of a way to have light inside the barges. The light for the barges could not come from fire or from windows because they would break."

I asked Miriam why they couldn't use fire in the barges. Doug whispered that it would suck out the oxygen, but I was thinking in terms of the fire burning the wood that the barges were made of. Miriam sat and thought about if for a minute so I asked her what the barges were made of. Her answer?

"Bricks"

Milestones

Ok, so here I am trying to spice up my Blog a little bit and I go and add a picture of a toilet. Well, you may think my Blog is taking a turn for the worse, but I assure you this will be a rare picture. I will not be posting pictures of toilets very often.

Anyway, the other day I posted about Shaylynn wanting to go potty, but not paying attention enough to realize she was ready to go until it was too late. Well, tonight we got her on just in time! I was about to put her on the tub and asked her if she wanted to get on the potty. As usual she said yes and climbed up. I left the room for a few seconds but came rushing back when I hear that lovely tinkling sound. Now I know I am being a "potty mouth" right now, but my story is almost finished. I checked with Miriam to make sure it wasn't her making the noise with the tub water and she assured me it wasn't. So I checked the toilet. Sure enough, my baby had gone potty in the right spot. Yeah Shay! Granted, it was only a little, but I'm still very happy. Hopefully this will be something that will start happening very frequently.

Oh, why the picture of the toilet? Because silly, I wasn't going to post a picture of a naked baby going potty. Sheesh! What kind of Blog do you think I'm running here?

Pooh Bear is BLONDE?!?

Who knew that Winnie the Pooh was blonde?

The other day I was helping the girls clean their room and saw this looking at me through their tent window. I tried taking a picture through the tent window, but all that the picture produced was a large amount of pink mesh.

I just thought this was pretty funny and worth taking a picture. Besides, I think Miriam enjoys it when I laugh and take pictures of the things she does instead of yell and tell her to put it away. Go figure.

Well, what do you think Pooh, do blondes really have more fun?

Why is it that. . . .?

Why is it that when our child does something naughty to another child we are mortified and are quick to correct the situation. However, when someone else's child does something to our child we are quick to forgive and say it's no big deal?

For example, tonight we went to a WONDERFUL dinner at a friend's house. We had a fun time eating lots of very yummy food and enjoying lively conversation. I don't remember particulars, but somehow among the three families there, all of our kids managed to injure one another. There were several moments of trying to figure out who did what and which child needed to be disciplined. When it was our child doing the hurting we were quick to apologize and correct the situation. When it was our child's turn to be hurt, we quickly brushed over the issue and said they needed to toughen up anyway. My excuse---"Shaylynn beats on Miriam all the time, it's about time she knows what it feels like to be picked on."

So, my question is: Why do we get so embarrassed over things our kids do, but when someone else's kid does the same thing we brush it off? This may sound like a serious post and I don't mean it to be. I actually find the whole topic rather funny in an interesting sort of way. Just something to think about as you go about your day.

By the way, this picture and the picture in the next post really don't have anything to do with what I'm writing about. I just like having pictures to go with my mumbo-jumbo.

Dad Just Doesn't Understand

Today we were watching the Colts/Chargers game on television. Shaylynn kept coming in with the potty seat saying, "Potty, potty, potty." I've been dealing with this all week. I'd ask her if she wanted to sit on the toilet and she'd say yes. We'd sit there and sit there and nothing. Well, I just figured it was one of those times and chose to watch the game. Doug, of course, just ignored her except for telling her to get the toilet off her head. Anyway, a few minutes later I see a naked body running from the front room to the bathroom with a stool. I was excited that she was actually going to get on the toilet, but didn't expect anything from it. That is until Miriam covered her mouth and moaned, "Oh no! Shaylynn went potty on the floor!" Sure enough! There was a nice wet spot on my bedroom floor and a diaper laying by my bed. I'm not sure how she stripped down and ran out of the room before we noticed, but that's what we get for not paying attention.

Because it's customary for us to try and blame each other, Doug and I started debating whose fault it was she wasn't put on the toilet. My excuse---I just didn't want to. Doug's--I didn't understand what she was saying. Hmmm....I don't know how you can misunderstand someone saying, "Potty, potty, potty", but that's just me.

What Am I Doing?

I had great plans of keeping this blog up to date, but I've already failed. I've tried to get some Christmas pictures posted, but there have been some issues stemming from my lack of computer abilities. I think I've tried to post the same thing about three times already. I decided to just go ahead and post my last one because if I put it off any longer it wouldn't get done. Come to think of it, my last post was my first post. I guess that would make this my second post. Go me! Anyway, hopefully this will get easier and I'll be able to start posting some more soon.

Good Luck Doug!

Today is Doug's official day as a doctor at TEI (The Eye Institute). He's been there before and seen patients, but that was as an assistant, today he does the full exam and writes any prescriptions that may be needed. He's at TEI from 12:30 until 9:00 tonight. We've already been missing him today and it's only 1:16 pm. Good luck Doug! We're all cheering for you.