Fun with Friends

It's been a short week since I didn't write until Thursday last week, but I generally prefer writing on Tuesdays.  So, I'm going to get back on track.

On Friday we went over to Melanie's house to play, but shortly after we got there Reagan started to act really tired.  All she wanted to do was cuddle.  I held her for awhile, and then I realized that she was burning up.  We curtailed the fun and decided to go home for a nap.  When I checked her temperature, it was 103.4.  Poor girl!

She rested for the remainder of the day on Friday, and she rested all day Saturday.  Saturday evening Matt and I looked in her throat with a flashlight, and she had huge white sores on her tonsils.  Thinking it was strep throat, I took her to the Instacare down the street.  The strep test was negative, but the doctor gave her an antibiotic anyway.  She was feeling better Sunday morning.   Now she has had this mysterious strep throat look-alike three times in three months.  I hope she won't have to get her tonsils removed.

On Sunday we went to church, and I got to substitute for the three year old Sunday School class.  There was only one student, which was a little sad, but we had a good time anyway.  Also, I got to use the lesson I prepared for Primary for Family Home Evening again last night.

Our girls were pretty impressed by all the preparation I put into the FHE lesson.  We talked about the Creation, and I had cut-outs of a whole bunch of animals.  Also, we played a matching game where we matched the days of creation with pictures of what God created on that day.  Now we have pictures of tons of different animals floating around our house!

Yesterday I took the girls to my friend Megan's house.  Megan and I were roommates in college for about three years.  She was having a get-together at her place with several of our friends from college.  Lindsey had flown in from Maryland for a week, and Torie had driven up from Arizona.  Their trips just happened to coincide, and Megan and I got to enjoy their company for a couple of hours.  Kirsten and Reagan had fun playing with all the kids.  I was grateful that Reagan was feeling better, so that we could go.

Lindsey did Reagan's hair, so that she looked like Elsa.

This is Torie and her little girl.

Reagan is playing in the "stuffed animal room."

Showing off her hair

New Neighbors

Last Thursday morning my parents drove into town after a two and a half day road trip from Tennessee to Utah.  That afternoon they went to look at a house two blocks south of our house in our neighborhood, and they put an offer on the house.  On Friday their offer was accepted.  That means my parents will be our new neighbors.  How exciting!

It's been a crazy whirlwind of a time for them, and we were glad to be any kind of support we could be.  I can't believe they're actually going to live a six minute walk away from us.

While they were here, my parents slept in Reagan's room, and Reagan slept on the bottom bunk in Kirsten's room.  However, my parents were so inviting that the girls often went in to play with their Nana and Grampa.  Here they are jumping on the bed after taking a bath.

Jumping on the bed!

Since we had already planned to go visit Matt's Aunt Cheryl in Idaho on Saturday, we decided to stick with our plan.  My parents really seemed to need the peace and quiet to get their heads wrapped around how fast everything thing had happened.

Eating lunch at Aunt Cheryl's house.  I thought the mountain lion was so neat.

Aunt Cheryl had some Mater Power Wheel cars and let the girls drive them around in the house.  It was awesome!

 On Sunday we got together with my brother Brian and his family.  It was fun to have big family dinners every night while my parents were in town.  It's nice that we'll get to do it more often now that they're moving here.  Of course, I think we'll have to slow down a bit or we'll all be too worn out to talk to each other anymore.

Kirsten and Reagan eating with their cousin Sierra at the little yellow table.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that my parents brought their dog Mason with them on this trip.  So, this was the first time Mason and Porter met.  They were pretty competitive with each other, but my mom was good at spoiling both of them.  As such, they stayed happy--except for Mason's tireless desire to hump Porter.  Seriously, their little dog wore himself out.  I can't believe Porter tolerated it!
 

Kirsten took this picture of Porter and Mason while Mason was taking a break :)

Selfie with Sierra

Selfie with William

Sierra and Reagan had fun playing doctor together.

Reagan loves collecting rocks.  We lined them up on the porch.

 On Tuesday Reagan got her very own scooter like Kirsten.  Kirsten has been riding her scooter like crazy, and I really felt like Reagan needed one too.  She has already figured out how to steer, and today they both rode their scooters to their friend Gracie's house while I walked.  I can't believe they're both so big.

Kirsten and Reagan with their friend Gracie.

After playing with Gracie, we came home and played in the dirt.

My parents flew back to Tennessee on Wednesday, and now they're starting the next step on the big move.  We can't wait to see them when they get back with all of their stuff!

"Please bless Daddy in Okaha"

Matt is in Omaha this week, and he was in Austen last week.  The girls have been a little confused about where their daddy has gone since he almost never goes out of town for work.  In their prayers, they pray that Daddy will be safe in "Okaha."  I think it is very cute.  We miss him, but he'll be back on Friday.  So, I know we'll survive.

Actually, we're more than surviving.  Last week was Spring Break, and we had a play date nearly every day.  If Matt had been in town, I probably wouldn't have planned our week to be so full, but I knew I would want some adult interaction.

On Monday we met Jennie and her kids at the South Towne Mall.  Jennie had her baby a few days later.  So, I was glad that she was up to meeting us at the mall.  Our kids play so well together.  They played on the indoor playground and pretended to ride the rides in the food court.  Jennie shared cookies and candy with my girls, which made them very happy.  We are so excited that her third baby has arrived now!

We met my neighbor Jessica and her kids at the Provo Rec Center pool on Tuesday.  I had sent her a text inviting her to meet us, but I never heard back from her.  Fortunately, the girls and I still went to the pool because apparently she did text me back.  I just didn't receive Jessica's text until the next day.  Phones can be so unreliable at times!  I would have felt like such a heel if we hadn't gone to the pool.

Reagan has entered a new I'm-terrified-of-the-water stage, and I do not like it.  Last summer she would jump into the pool and throw her body all around without any fear, but now if she can't touch the bottom, she clings to me and cries.  It's sad, but honestly kind of annoying.  I hope she outgrows the phase soon.  Fortunately, they have a really nice "kiddie" pool, and since she can touch there, she has a lot of fun.  She'll even go down the twisty slides.

Kirsten loves swimming.  I expect that after her swim lessons this summer she'll be doing well enough for me to feel comfortable letting her swim without her floaties.  I can't believe how quickly she's growing up!

On Wednesday we went to our friend Melanie's house.  We get together nearly every week, and our girls are such good friends.  Sadie and Reagan are even starting to be able to play together, which is cute to see.  After lunch we went over to a park near their house and enjoyed the sunshine.

Since it was Spring Break, Kirsten didn't have preschool.  So, we invited her best friend from preschool over on Thursday.  Kynslie is such a sweet little girl.  She loved our chickens and was really good at including Reagan, which made me happy.  Kirsten was in heaven having her friend at her house.

On Friday Matt came home, and we all went swimming at the Rec Center in the evening.  I like to see him play with Kirsten in the water, but I admit I get a little envious that I can't play because Reagan is squeezing my neck.  We try to warm her up to the water by passing her back and forth, but she seems to consider it the rarest form of torture.  Sad.

Matt and I went on a date Saturday evening.  We went out to eat at the Art City Trolley, which is our favorite restaurant.  We like to get the spinach and artichoke dip with pita bread as an appetizer, and they also have the most delicious quesadillas.  After dinner we played black light miniature golf, and I won!  Honestly, we were pretty evenly matched for most of the game, but I did pull ahead on the last hole.  After playing mini-golf, we went to see Kung Fu Panda 3 at a discount theater in Spanish Fork.  We felt like we crammed three dates into one, and we still got home 15 minutes before we had told our babysitter that we would be back.

Sunday was pretty much our typical Sunday, and then Matt left on Monday.  About an hour after Matt left, Melanie and her kids came to our house to play.  Kirsten, Reagan, and Amielee really enjoyed playing outside together.

Then while I was in the middle of making lunch, my sister-in-law called to tell me that my parents had sold their house and had asked if we would go over to a house in our neighborhood to do a walk through with my parents' realtor.   Right after lunch the girls and I went over to the house with my brother and his wife.  I was able to get on Skype with my parents and show them the house as we walked through.

Now my parents are driving out from Tennessee to come see the house for themselves.  I'm so excited to see them tomorrow morning.  I can't believe it's actually happening!

On Tuesday I babysat one of my friend Brianne's kids.  Brenna is 11, and Quin is 4.  They played so well with my kids.  The four of them were running in and out of the house, which became pretty obvious by the amount of mulch that got spread throughout the entire house, but it was so much fun to see them be so carefree and uninhibited.  Also, since Brenna was 11, I didn't feel like I had to go outside every time Reagan went out the door, and that was nice.

Well, you can tell we've had a fun-filled week because I didn't even think to take a single picture.  Hopefully, it was still a fun read though.

Connecting in Weakness

A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine shared a quote with me that has stuck with me:  "Connect with people in weakness instead of trying to impress with strength."

When I'm trying, whether consciously or unconsciously, to impress people, I'm more concerned about what they think of me than actually trying to connect with them.  I can't "mourn with those who mourn" or "comfort those who stand in need of comfort," as I covenanted to do when I was baptized, if I'm trying to prove to myself and other people that my life is perfect.  Since I want to have genuine connections with people, I have been trying to share more of my human frailties with others.  That's not to say that I feel the need to share all of my weaknesses with everyone all the time, but I've come to realize that sometimes I even hesitate to share my talents because I don't deem them to be "good enough."

In March, I had an opportunity to share some of my talents at the Relief Society birthday party activity at Church.  A week before the activity Sister Hancock came to my door with two pieces of music.  She asked me to sing one and play the other one while my friend Janette sang.  In turn, Janette would play for me while I sang.  Sister Hancock is relatively new in the Ward, and she told me that she was getting to know everyone's talents,  She had prayed to ask who should sing the songs she had selected, and Janette's and my name came to her mind.  In addition, she felt strongly that we should help each other by accompanying.  When she asked Janette, she didn't even know if Janette could play the piano (she can).

I had heard both songs before, and I even had the piano book.  However, I had never really learned or practiced either of those two songs.  Janette and I practiced together a few days after my half marathon, and my fingers were all over the place.  When Sister Hancock had asked me to play, I had felt confident that I could play the song, but practicing at Janette's house, I started to feel a little embarrassed.  Maybe I wasn't good enough to accompany?  I quickly threw my shame and my doubt away and told myself that I could play the song.  I simply needed to practice more.  Janette gave me encouraging words, and I gave Janette encouraging words because I think she was feeling the same way about her ability to accompany.

Then I went home and I practiced.  I spent hours on the song.  For the next two or three nights it was in head as I fell asleep at night.  I practiced at the Church and at home.  I prayed for the ability to invite the Spirit to the meeting through the music.  I surrendered, in prayer, my desire to impress people with my musical talents because, I'll confess, that I never once played the song perfectly all the way through.  It was a pretty long song, and my hands weren't even large enough to reach all of the notes in some of the chords.  It was clearly written by a man with very large hands, but I was able to do some modifications, so that my hands could play enough of the notes.

On the night of the activity, Janette and I encouraged each other.  Neither of us had even had time to be nervous about singing because our complete focus was on practicing the piano.  And do you know what?  Neither of us played perfectly that evening, but we both played well.  Most importantly, the Spirit was in the room because our hearts were in the right place.  We had connected with each other and with the other women in the room in our weakness.  That made me feel more than "good enough."  I felt like I was a divine member of a divine sisterhood.

On a more newsy note:  My parents went home on Wednesday.  We had a fantastic visit with them, and I was happy that I got to drive them to the airport.  I'm a bit selfish when it comes to driving family to the airport because I want the time in the car to talk.

On Saturday I went to Insanity at the Rec Center for the first time in six months or so.  The last time I went I had to leave the class early because I thought I was going to pass out, but this time, I finished the entire workout.  My body was sore until Monday, but it was fun anyway.  I intend to do it again because I think it will help me improve my running.    On April 30th I'm going to run another half marathon at Thanksgiving Point, and I would like to improve my time.

Here are a couple of pictures:

Kirsten took this picture today while we were playing outside.

We let the chicks play in the yard on Sunday, and they kept gravitating toward our Easter decorations.  How appropriate!