Weird!

I have enough weirdness in my life to keep me laughing.

Exhibit A:  Honesty is the best policy

 

The phone rang one evening and this popped up on caller id.  For some reason we weren't tempted to answer!

Exhibit B:  Frosty the Hunter

 
In case the picture doesn't make it clear, between the white icicles and candy cane border we find Mr. Snowman (I'm certain he isn't really named Frosty) holding a gun while proudly observing his deer which is hanging upside down from a tree draining blood onto the ground.  Doesn't it make you want to burst out caroling?

Actually, it makes me glad that these neighbors live several blocks away.  Marianne reminded me that these guys bought several boxes of Girl Scout cookies from her.  It wasn't until halfway through her sales pitch that we realized they were all drunk.   They were also drunk when we delivered the cookies, but they DID pay!

Exhibit C:  Pillow Talk

Last night I was tossing and turning trying to find a comfortable position when this conversation ensued.

Thoughtful Husband: "Are you okay?"
Me:  "I'm fine."
TH:   "Let me know if you need me to take you across the border."
Me:  "Across the border??"
TH: "Yeah, to Mexico."
Me:  "Why would I want to go to Mexico?"
TH:  "I don't know, but I can take you if you need me to."

I'm not sure if he was suggesting a vacation, an alternative medical treatment or just wants to get rid of me.  But it wasn't until the end that I realized he was talking in his sleep.

Books Are Life

My friend Tawnya posted a reading meme on her blog.  I looked up a few others and found one I liked.  The rule for this one is that you can only use titles of books you've read this year to answer the questions!

 
Describe yourself:  Monsters and Mormons

How do you feel?  bliss to you

Describe where you currently live:  Home:  A Novel

If you could go anywhere, where would you go? The Place of Knowing

Your favorite form of transportation:  The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Your best friend is:  Extraordinary, Ordinary People

You and your friends are:  Same Kind of Different As Me

What's the weather like?  Our Iceberg is Melting

You fear:  Sept 11

What is the best advice you have to give?  Leadership Education

Thought for the day:  Heaven is for Real

How you would like to die: The Only Way to Paradise

My soul's present condition:  Zion:  Seeking the City of Enoch


The authors can all be found on the sidebar under "Books Read in 2011."  This was really fun, but it made me realize how much this pregnancy has affected my brain.  I am reading quite a bit, but mainly I'm reading articles not books.  I am struggling with the focus required to make it through "real" books.  I have been enjoying our collection of Christmas picture books (not listed on the sidebar), but I've noticed that even my read-aloud skills are somewhat impared.  Sad, huh?!

The News You've Been Waiting For

Well, maybe not, but it is definitely the news I have been waiting for! John and I went to my doctor's appointment this morning hopeful that the baby would be a little more cooperative this time. I knew that my doctor had delivered my friend's baby earlier this morning and she told us it was a little boy named Samuel. As she started the ultrasound, the baby still wasn't giving us a clear view. I was disappointed, when suddenly she said, "Well it looks like we have a little girlfriend for Sam." It took me a second to realize what she meant. "It's a girl?!" Yep, it's a girl!

Marianne and Evan were at classes at our commonwealth school today. Marianne wanted me to text her with the news. I told her I wanted to surprise them when they got home. They didn't like that idea, but I didn't make any promises. After my appointment, John and I decided to drive over and tell them in person. The timing was perfect since they were having their lunch break. They were surprised to see us and I had them come out to the car to see the ultrasound photo. We told them they were the first to know!

Now the news is out and we're tickled pink.

A Gift

It has been a week since I posted, a good week filled with happy things.   Here is a sampling of some of the goodness:

*Thanksgiving at my brother's house.  It was wonderful to have the whole family together for a day filled with delicious food, laughter and a walk to the park for pictures.  I am so grateful to my sister-in-law for hosting.  I know it was a lot of work for her, but it was wonderfully stress-free for me.  Best of all, the sadness of missing my mom didn't really hit until the next day, which was fine because I could be alone and process my feelings.

*My family surprised me in a wonderful way.  While I was on a walk they got out all the boxes of Christmas decorations and even set up the tree.  This may not seem like much, but it is a major project to get everything down from our tiny garage.  It is not something I can do by myself.  Right now it isn't something I can do at all!  I was so excited when I came home to find the tree all ready for us to decorate.

*We spent Saturday afternoon at LaJolla Cove.  The tide was really low, so we had a great view of the tide pools and deep green sea grass.  We played frisbee on the lawn and even watched a bride and groom with their photographer.  We drove up to Mt. Soledad just in time to watch the sunset.  It was a perfect way to end the day!

Our "soft" frisbee which was perfect for a crowded day at the beach.

*Christmas cards make me happy!  We received our first card and newsletter (yes I love those newsy letters too) yesterday.  Our own cards are addressed and almost ready to go.  The letter is ready too, but I am holding off on printing it until after my doctor's appointment tomorrow in case I have any news to share.  Keep your fingers crossed.

*Molly and the girls came to church with us on Sunday since Ryan had to work.  We love spending time with them and it was fun to be with Brianne in the nursery.  Brianne was disappointed we hadn't brought the dog to church.  She asked for "woof woof" several times.

*Tuesday is my new favorite day since it is Aaron's pday.  He has been writing us a fairly long email plus a handwritten letter every week.  This is a wonderful surprise since Aaron is known for his brevity.  He sounds very busy and happy.  He loves learning Korean.  On Thanksgiving they got to hear from Elder Nelson and later they got to watch 17 Miracles which includes the story of one of our ancestors, which he recognized.  This proves he actually was listening during some of those family home evenings!

*Today should be another good day.  I get to see a dear friend who moved away last year and tonight I am going to the temple.  I am grateful for the the gift of happy days!

Fill in the blanks

My Mom taught my brother Scott and I to say "I'm sorry" and "I forgive you" at a very young age.  These statements had to be made sincerely and followed with a hug.  Later my Dad taught us how to deal with stress and pain by forgiving others.  He told us to follow this formula:  say "I forgive  [name of person] for [whatever happened],"  Sometimes this was a process that started with "I forgive Joe for being a total jerk and stupid idiot" and progressed to "I forgive Joe for hurting my feelings when he teased me about my new haircut."  Even better was when you could finally add, "I'm grateful to Joe for being my friend."  (For the record, no one named Joe ever teased me about my hair.)

So the pattern is:  I am grateful to _______________  for _______________.
Today I want to fill in the blanks by sharing a few of the people I am thankful for and why.

I am grateful to:

Brooks for making the most comfortable shoe on earth (even if it is ugly).
My mom for being steadfast and immovable in her testimony of Jesus Christ..
Bryn for her great faith.
John for holding my hand and walking beside me for almost 25 years.
My body for allowing my worst pregnancy complications to be only heartburn and aches and pains.
Evan for his enthusiasm and energy in playing the piano.
Heather for her endurance and sense of humor.
Muff (and her family) for caring for grandma as she approaches 90.
Molly for starting the family tradition of walking lots of miles while pregnant.
Aaron for giving up solitude and the great outdoors in order to serve the Lord.
Carolyn for lifting my Dad from the pit of loneliness.
Amazon for making the Kindle so I can carry my library with me at all times.
Marianne for getting up for seminary day after day even when she hasn't slept well.
Cows for making milk that becomes cottage cheese.  (I'm still craving it!)
Mormon for abridging and organizing the Book of Mormon.
Moroni for not making Ether the last book in the Book of Mormon.
Ryan for being my guinea pig and letting me practice my momskills on him.
Brianne for looking like her daddy, but improving on it with her curly hair.
My Dad for always believing in me.
Costco for selling beautiful flower bouquets at a great price.
Sheree for being my example and showing me what is possible.
The calendar for telling me that Christmas is almost here!
Leighton Anne for sharing her sweet smiles with me.
Jenny for walking thousands of miles with me over the past 15 years.
Everyone who actually reads my blog!
My Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ for all of the above and for many more blessings I didn't mention.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Angels Did It!

Although we are missing our wings and halos (and Brenda!) in this photo, we are still Annie's Angels and together we raised $12,255 to fight against breast cancer!  We are still accepting donations, so it's not too late to help out.

It was a tough 3 days with not enough sleep, too many porta-potties, lots of blisters and very sore muscles, but it was worth it!  We joined 3,600 walkers in San Diego and we raised a total of $9.2 million to defeat breast cancer.

I stuck with my plan to walk about 10 miles a day for a total of 30 miles.  At times it was hard to leave my team and take a shuttle to lunch, but I know it was the right thing to do.  My back hurt during the walk and I had Braxton-Hicks contractions (the first of my pregnancy) so I know I needed the rest during lunch.  I usually waited about 2 hours for my team, but it gave me a chance to meet so many great people and hear some wonderful stories.  Telling people that I was 6 months pregnant was a great ice-breaker.  There weren't too many pregnant moms on the walk!

One of the sweetest stories I heard was from a woman from Colorado.  She was walking in honor of a friend with breast cancer.  She had been training for 7 months and was so excited.  On the first day she fell off a huge curb (some of them were over a foot high!) and sprained her ankle.  She kept walking and ended up injuring her other leg in an effort to compensate.  That evening the medical staff told her she shouldn't walk any more.  She was crushed to have to give up her dream.  Her husband went out and rented a wheelchair so he could push her the rest of the way.  She started crying as she told me about it and I was really touched.

I met many other women who lost their mothers to breast cancer and walked in their memory.

Crowds of people cheered for us along the way.  They played music for us, sang, danced, offered gifts, candy, water and kleenex.  Some cute Girl Scouts even gave me a sleeve of thin mints which we enjoyed for our FHE snack tonight.  On Saturday John, Marianne, Evan, my Dad and Carolyn came to cheer us on.  They walked with us for a mile or so and it really lifted my spirits to see them.

The crew at camp was fantastic.  They fed us and took good care of us.  They even found the money and credit card I dropped!  However, I do not regret our decision to stay in a hotel.  It was worth every penny sleep in a real bed and have a real bathroom after a long day on our feet.

I am grateful for my experience on the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure Walk. Hugs to my fabulous teammates and thanks to everyone who donated!  Most of all, I send my love to the three women I walked to honor:  my mom who was a 15 year breast cancer survivor, my grandma who at nearly 90 is still going strong after defeating breast cancer, and my daughter Marianne who I pray will someday live in a world without cancer!

Our Annie's Angels theme:
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.               2 Timothy 1:7

Day 3 of the 3 Day!

5:30 AM