Age of Innocence

This is my sweet daughter. She is in the funnest stage right now. She has always been super chatty(at least at home)but now she really has something to say and conversations with her are rather entertaining. In some ways she seems wise beyond her years, yet at times I am reminded just how young and innocent she is.

Yesterday we were having a conversation about relationships and she said,"I've never heard you and daddy fight and yell at each other." I responded,"You're right. Dad and I don't yell at each other but that doesn't mean we always agree on everything." She said, "Yeah, like Dad likes to eat cold honey butter on warm bread and you like both to be warm."

If that's her best recollection of us disagreeing than we must be doing something right!(or at least hiding things really well!)

She also recently asked me what an X-rated movie was. (Where she ever heard the term I'll never know.) I explained that it's a movie that is full of "a lot of bad stuff." She said, "Oh do the people say bad words and wear immodest clothes?"

Yeah, immodest clothes. That's it.

I've just been thinking about how pure she is--totally unspotted from the world. She's not even accountable yet. I often joke that she acts like a teenager already with her karaoke machine and sassy fashion sense, but she is still very much a little girl who likes to play with dolls and have tea parties. A little girl whose view of life is so hopeful and uncomplicated.

How do I help her hang on to that innocence as she heads into the approaching years? How do I shelter her without being overprotective? The world of her teenage years will be so different than mine was.

Actually, I think I know what I need to do. I just pray that I'm up to the challenge.

Random Complaining

I used to consider myself a fairly optimistic upbeat kind of person but I think the older I get the more critical I have become and the more annoyed I am with silly things. Here are just a few ridiculous complaints I have recently made.

I find it dumb that two of the three judges on America's Got Talent aren't even Americans, and the third judge is David Hasslehoff who is himself devoid of talent. So all three judges are totally unqualified. Which I suppose would explain why a yodeling dominatrix and a dance troupe of transvestites made the quarter finals and the girl who could sing while playing the harp was axed.

I resent all of the coupons and "helpful" information sent to me on an almost daily basis from the baby formula companies. I think what bugs me is that they profess to be pro-breastfeeding--giving nursing tips and hailing the virtues of breast milk--even though everyone knows they don't want mothers to breastfeed at all! They just want to be top of mind should you decide to ween. Baby formula is big business. I find their marketing a bit sinister. So just give me my free diaper bag and leave me alone! :)

And what's with shutting down the grocery store that is just three blocks from my house?! Granted that store was kind of old and more than a little creepy, but it was familiar and convenient and I had come to depend on it. Of course, there are about five other places to shop within ten minutes of my house, but not being able to quickly run grab that one missing item for a recipe or leave to return redbox movies at 8:52 pm is starting to really bug me!

OK, enough griping. I'll be more positive next time I post I promise!

Quote of the Day

I saw the following quote posted on the wall at my dentist office this morning. (Yes I know, "only in Utah") It think it's one of my new favorites:

"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he has been robbed. The fact is that most putts don’t drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just like people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, and most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is just like an old time rail journey ... delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

I sure miss him sometimes.

My Hero

I love the 4th of July. I always have. I love singing patriotic songs, even though they make me cry. I love the parade, crazy as it is. I love seeing the sky full of hot air balloons. I love a huge fireworks show, although I think do-it-yourself fireworks are lame.
We weren't able to do much to be super festive this year, the baby is too little and I'm still recovering, but we had a fun afternoon at a picnic with cousins.
Later that evening I stood in my driveway with my husband and watched as two Apache helicopters slowly made their way through the sky. I guess they had flown over some Independence Day event and were heading back. I thought they were kind of cool to see and then my husband quietly said, "I love that sound. It brings a huge sense of relief." For him the sound of an approaching Apache means help is on the way. It means air support is coming to blast the bad guys.
It brought to mind again what he as personally been through in the name of Freedom. He has been shot at, had his truck hit with a rocket propelled grenade--while he was IN it, and even lost a friend in battle.
To be honest, I think the 4th of July is kind of hard for him since coming home. It affects him in ways that I can never understand.
I am grateful for the men and women in uniform who have fought for us.
I am even more grateful for MY man and everything he been through, the sacrifices he has made for our country and the daily sacrifices he continues to make for me and our family.

The baby story

Today, June 29th is the day I have been waiting for and focusing on for the past nine months. Induction day. It was day zero on my countdown to baby.

I never would have guessed that my countdown would actually end five days earlier but I'm EXTREMELY grateful!

I've spent the past few weeks feeling rather miserable. Monday and Tuesday of last week were particularly bad. My body hurt all over--so much I couldn't sleep, I was having tons of random contractions and I pretty much wanted to cry all the time.

I got up at three in the morning on Wednesday to use the bathroom (yet again!) and lo and behold my water broke. At first I wasn't sure what had really happened, I was in the bathroom after all, but it was soon clear that this was not a bladder control issue! I crept back to bed and gently kissed my husband and told him he had to get up. I had no idea how much time we had. My last two kids were induced so I hadn't gone into labor on my own since my first baby over nine years ago. I honestly had no idea what to expect.

We had to get all the kids up and load them in the car. They were a little delirious but very excited. Fortunately I had packed their suitcase the night before just to have it ready. We got to my mom's house a little before four and called her from the driveway to come unlock the door. By then I was having strong and consistent contractions.

I was admitted to the hospital around 4:30 and got the epidural by about 5:15. My doctor showed up thirty minutes later. I was dilated to a six but he could tell things were progressing rather quickly and said he would come check me again in about twenty minutes. Five minutes later I had one really strong contraction that the nurse saw on the monitor from the nurses station. She came back in and said, "that was a big one I bet you're ready." I totally did not believe her! But sure enough that was all it took. The doctor came back and after about three sets of pushes little Henry James made his debut into the world. I guess he was just very anxious to get here!

Out of the mouths of babes. . .

I guess I must be nesting because I have spent the last two days feverishly getting my house in order. Which is no small task considering the state of things around here. My life has gotten so crazy that housework has been at the bottom of my priority list for far too long. There are multiple household and yard tasks that have been neglected and I am suddenly determined to tackle them.

As I pulled out the mop this afternoon my five-year-old exclaimed, "Oh, you're using that thingy! I like that thingy."

To which his sister interjected, "You mean the mop?"

He replied, "Oh yeah, mop. I haven't seen it for so long I forgot what it was called."

How sad is that?!

"All these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good"

You've heard the story a million times in various talks or Ensign articles. You know, the one where a downtrodden individual opens their scriptures to a random page and there they find the exact answer for a problem or the comfort they desperately seek. It's as if the scriptures are delivering a direct message from the Lord.

Don't get me wrong--I'm not knocking the story. It has been true for me multiple times in my life.

It just seems that every time I try this little exercise lately I always seem to end up in Doctrine and Covenants 122.

Should I be concerned?