I Want To Go Where Everybody Knows My Name

I had this whole schpill ready in my head to write about atheists and it was really good but I'm just too tired to lay it out for you here. Maybe in one of my forthcoming posts. Just to prove how terribly degenerative my thinking is today I'll tell you that I've been thinking about the TV show Cheers. I know that is a strange jump from atheists and I won't attempt to explain the logic. Back to Cheers, it wasn't a great show by any means. I actually went to the Cheers bar once while I was in Boston and I can tell you that it made the show look like a Pulitzer prize winner. I watched the show though and the two people I liked the most were Norm and Cliff. They seemed like regular guys that you could get along with. Today I've been thinking that I wish I was like Norm. Not the drunk and fat part or even the really unflattering suits but remember when he came into the bar everyone yelled, "NORM!" I really think that just once in my life it would be really neat to walk into a room and have everyone yell, "JESS!" No, that doesn't have the same ring. Maybe, "PUDGE!" I want to go where everybody knows my name.

I'm flying to Portland this weekend for my nieces baptism and I'm not really into air travel. I hate the security, and the waiting, and the being so close to smelly strangers. Not to mention that I really don't understand the physics behind what keeps the plane flying so I get a little freaked out. I'm also feeling a lot of anxiety about leaving the kids. You know, everyday I think I would kill for a break and now that I have one for a few days I feel anxious. What kind of cruel mom joke is that anyway? I'm really excited though to see my sister and her fam and where they are living.

G-Dawg is really into Star Wars. I've decided that G-Dawg doesn't do anything half way. So when I say "into" Star Wars it means that he is a robe wearing, light saber carrying, boot sporter Jedi. The kicker was when he realized that Jedi have those hideous pony tails that go behind their ears and in the 80's I think that hair style was called a rat tail. Anyway, he noticed those and next thing I know he broke the string off of one of my ornaments and asked me to tape it on his face. He went to an Eagle Court of Honor like that last night. What must people think? I really don't want to know. That kid is a nutter and I love it.

L-Dawg is working on his verbal skills while he continues to make no move whatsoever to crawl or so much as scoot. What do you do? He is so smart but maybe not the next inducty into the crawlers of the month club. He says "Uh oh" so dang cute. In fact he is pretty dang cute period. My friend who is a PT (that's physical therapist) has informed me that L-Dawg is pear shaped and needs to work on his spaghetti arms. Somehow I don't think that will bode well with the chicks in the future. You've never heard a girl say about a guy he has this adorable pear shape. Anyway, her husband thinks we shouldn't talk and if she keeps up these assessments then maybe T-Dawg will declare the same thing. :) Something about our idea to buy houses next to eachother and get a realtor to give us a 2 for 1 deal was crazy. I guess L-Dawg needs to hit the baby gym and work on his quads. Are those in the legs...then I mean his pecks. Or whatever!

49 Things I am Grateful For...Nope Make that 50

In honor of Thanksgiving I made this list. It's in no particular order so don't get offended if you are near the end and if you didn't make the list this year try for next year! No, really I love you all.

* That my husband is my best friend

* That my kids make me laugh

* For my small house that can be cleaned top to bottom in a few hours

* Fall colors

* Winter sunsets

* Hymns that sometimes teach more doctrine to my heart that scriptures and talks

* Eternal Families

* Friends that make me take life less seriously

* My nieces and nephews

* My Grandma Humphries and what she has taught me about laughter, determination, and what it means to be a strong woman

* When Gage says, “I’m very sorry.”

* That I have a little junk in my trunk because it means I’ve never had to go hungry

* Animals

* That I had my kids in a hospital with drugs!!

* Air conditioning in the summer and Heating in the winter

* Luke’s giggle when I tickle under his chin

* The Crock-pot…hot food with little effort

* Snow covered mountains

* That I’ve always know the church was true

* The Book of Mormon

* The Internet…I can keep in touch with my loved ones and learn about anything I want

* Jane Austin books and movies

* That I know how to read

* My brothers and sisters and their wives/husband

* My Parents

* All Dad’s funny sayings that I hated growing up but make me feel like I’m home when I say them to my kids…”It’s colder than a tin toilet in an igloo!”

* That mom says, “Who the Gad knows?”

* That I can see Gage’s testimony growing

* The smell of new babies and kittens and puppies

* That I know there is something after this life

* Unanswered prayers

* That I’m an American

* That Tim comes home from work happy

* The excitement of Christmas Eve

* Priesthood blessings

* That I can run

* That I made this list

* That on paperwork I put Full-Time Mother under Occupation and Gage age 3 and Luke 10 months under Employer…I should add Tim age 30

* That I don’t need things to be happy

* That I have common sense

* That Tim laughs at my jokes

* The promise of Easter and the buds of spring

* That my boys love each other

* For my washing machine

* Long hot baths

* That Luke sleeps through the night

* My clothes…not the most trendy but it beats the alternative

* The super market

* That I have eyes that see, ears that hear, and a heart that can love

* And if you made it this far you are to be congratulated with my most shocking item. I'm thankful for my In-Laws. It means I have a husband right? No really I love them. Really! :)

Brothers....

I was so worried while I was pregnant that G-Dawg would be jealous and mean to L-Dawg. Trust me he has plenty of moments but for the most part these two are best friends. I love to hear their giggles from the backseat and I love that G-Dawg can hear L-Dawg crying before I do and will go get him up from his nap. L-Dawg now says "brother" in addition to "mom" and "dad". They are growing so quickly. G-Dawg asked in his prayer for Heavenly Father to protect us from Harmons. I think he meant harm but maybe grocery shopping is that scary. L-Dawg can seriously eat me under the table. Yesterday I think all we did was shovel food in his waiting mouth. P.S. I know that Halloween is over but I can't pry this Peter Pan costume out of G-Dawg's Kung Foo Grip so it he wears it all the time.

Ode to the World's Best Home Teacher

It has recently come to my attention that our buddy, the Bughunter, has nothing better to do at his high paying computer programming job than to read this entire blog. Yeah, that's right the whole thing. I guess that isn't much of a compliment considering he is interested in matrixes. We know him as Wes, our home teacher, the host of Tim's LAN Parties (in my ignorance I used to call these LAND parties...oops!) a brontosaurs, our choir director, and last but not least our friend. You however know him as the guy that can't read a map and chose the crappiest seats ever to Harry Potter. Go figure, he can program computers but is stumped by a map of a theater. But this title will never do because he is so much more. He is what Todd calls a man of action. When our hot water heater went kaput who do you think was over here at 9:00 at night bringing us water in his camping coolers and wore the ugliest coveralls ever to try and help T-Dawg fix it? I'll tell you who...the Bughunter who is ironically afraid of spiders, but this did not deter him from offering to go down into the spider's lair that is our crawl space. Perhaps his best attribute is his wife who not only helped carry the water but brought important ward gossip that brightened our mood. (two creepy people in our ward are getting married and are you ready for this they are 1st cousins!) As for the world's best home teacher part he never sits down to give the lesson which ensures him easy access to our door and a lesson that has never taken more than 30 seconds, not to mention that he always comes through in the clutch.

A Good Book

The last book I recommended on this blog was Harry Potter. Due to some recent goings on with old JK Rowling I'm not sure I'll be so quick to recommend books again. But there is one book I have been reading that I can recommend without any reservations. This week I have been reading The Price We Paid by Andrew Olsen. For those of you who know me well know that I am an avid reader and it is not often that a book changes me like this one has. The Price We Paid is about the Willie and Martin Handcart companies. The book is well thought out , well organized, and well researched. If you haven't read it I think you should....how 'bout them apples? If you do read it you will need at least a box and half of tissues if you've had children(only due to the hormones that still rage in your body after kids), and just one box if you haven't had kids. I cannot get over the faith, strength, and determination of these early saints. I have really let the spirit of murmuring into my life lately and there are great lessons to be learned from the way these saints approached adversity. As I have read I think if I had just buried my husband and 3 children in a shallow grave where an elder has to shoot wolves so that they won't eat their bodies during the funeral, could I, when it was over still praise God for the opportunity to come to Zion? Maybe you never know your strength until it is called into such serious question but I don't think I could've done it. My great great great Grandfather traveled with the Martin company and my heart swells with pride and gratitude when I read about him in this book. To think that his noble blood runs through my veins is so humbling and makes me want to make him proud in return. I need to do a lot better!

I couldn't help but think of the pioneers this weekend. We had a crappy weekend. Our water heater died on Friday night and you never know how much you miss your hot water until it is gone. When I washed my hair this morning in frigid water I thought of the handcart pioneers crossing rivers in the worst winter storms seen in the area. How women's hair froze to the tent and people's limbs froze until, like in the case of my Grandfather, the flesh literally fell off. We went up to Layton this weekend to visit some friends and we traveled the distance, in a warm car no less, in 30 minutes that took the saints a day and a half to travel pulling a handcart in the deep snow. We complained about the traffic and the saints were thankful if they got 4 ounces of flour and a smoky fire. When G-Dawg fell in the parking lot of Wendy's and his head made the sound that a carved pumpkin makes when thrown on the ground (you know you've done that) I knew a hospital with trained professionals was minutes away if he started acting funny. I can't imagine the hurt parents went through watching a child starve or freeze to death and being unable to save them. Anyway this post hasn't been as eloquent as I would have liked but it really comes from the heart that I think the pioneers were heroes in every sense of the way. Read the book! Roper and Todd you can spare me the line about only bearing your testimony about the scriptures...this book strengthened my testimony of the church and the tender mercies of the Savior and Heavenly Father.