Fall has arrived!

Autumn is my favorite season. The weather is just perfect for me (not too hot, not too cold). The world around me is changing every day. Every minute, it seems. I love the colors. I love crunching on the leaves as I walk. I love comparing the colors of one tree to another. I think I didn't really even know what fall was until I moved to Virginia. And I particularly love this neighborhood in fall. There are great big mature trees all around us. We don't get much "fall" in Texas where I grew up. I know that my mom really misses the fall too while she lives there, in Texas. So, in honor of my mother, I am going to start a Fall Foliage series. Every few days, or once a week maybe, I'll post an updated picture of the same branch of tree. That way my mom, and any others who live in none "fall" areas, can enjoy it along with me.

So, here is today's picture. This is the view from my kitchen window. When I stand there to do the dishes, this is what I see.

As you can see, there is really just one tiny branch that has already turned orange. But just you wait!!

A bellybutton haiku

My cousin Sarah is hysterical. She's always been one of my favorites. Her blog is one of my favorites. She set a "contest" to write a bellybutton haiku. I don't claim to be a literary buff or anything, I admit that I had to look up what exactly makes a haiku (and I still don't think I really did it right) but I gave it a shot. I have a little bellybutton story to share at this point in my life - so here it is:

Bellybutton
Small dot on my tummy
Taken for granted

Gallbladder
Tiny part of intestines
Now in such pain

Surgeon
He’s just a smart guy
Pay attention

Bellybutton
Now a hole in my tummy
Gallbladder gone

Band-aid
Covers the gapping hole
Don’t catch on my pants

Advil
Only four at a time?
Asleep for a week

Bellybutton
Never again taken for granted
Now a dot

Sharing

Well, at least I know I've taught my children to share.

Doing well

Just a quick post to let all you loving people out there know that I am doing well. The surgery went fine - I am now Gallbladderless. Margaret (mom-in-law) took care of the kids on Friday and Richard has been filling the roll of Mom and Dad since then. He's doing great (he is currently taking the advice given to new "Moms" everywhere - that is "nap when your kids nap.")
An apology to my brother Joe, who requested that I get my Gallbladder and the stones and send them to him for inspection. Sorry Joe, the hospital said that was against policy. You'll just have to have your own Gallbladder out and talk your surgeon into giving it to you.
Thanks for everyone's prayers and thoughts. I sure do appreciate it.

best friends

When I went to college I was at one of those points in my life where I could have gone any direction. Good, bad, or inbetween. (Mind you, I was making this choice while at Ricks College, so when I say bad - it wasn't that bad) In the end, I choose good. I credit that choice largely to my roommates. I am still very close with several of my roomies and I love all of them dearly. They will all always have a special place in my heart.

One of those roomies, Shanae, lives here in Virginia near me. She lived less than a mile away when we lived in our last house(and might be following me out to our current place of residence soon!). Shanae came over today to help me with the kids since I'm not really feeling up to full Mommy-potential lately. She was a great help not only with the kids, but also with my spirit. I just can't be around Shanae without being happy. She brings out a little bit of the giddy-ness that I remember from college. It reminds me of late nights sitting on the floor in our apartment, playing cards and drinking root beer. It reminds me of silly dancing and singing with just us girls after someone-or-other got back from a fun date. It just reminds me of a different part of my life - that is so far from this part of my life.


So, here's to Shanae. And Erica. And Amanda. And Christy. And Kerri. I love you all.

I have an entire hand-done scrapbook with tons of cute photos of Shanae, Christy, Erica, Kerri, Amanda and I. But it's all "old school". I tried taking a picture of the pictures, but it didn't work. So, sorry. No pictures of skinny me 10 years ago with "my girls."

A Princess and her shoes

Once upon a time, there was an adorable little Princess. She lived happily with her beautiful Queen Mother and Studly King Father. She also had two brothers known throughout the land as the Prince Troublemakers. They all lived in a beautiful land filled with happiness. But then one day, tragedy struck the kingdom. Princess Naomi broke one of her glass slippers! Oh, the carnage! Oh, the tears! Oh, the late night trip to the mall! And then, what light through yonder window breaks? Princess Naomi bought new shoes. And like any modern-day American Princess, this solved all her problems. The Princess' new shoes were even more blinged up then her plain old glass slippers. They even light up when walked upon! Peace was restored to the kingdom. And the Princess lived happily ever after.

September 11, 2001

On September 11, 2001 I stayed home from work sick. I lived in an apartment in Alexandria, Virginia with two friends, Melody and Melissa. I was engaged to Richard. Richard had taken my car to his work that day. He worked in the Pentagon Annex. I was still asleep when my room-mate and also co-worker, Melody, called me to tell me about the first of the towers in New York being hit. We had a discussion (that was really embarrassing) about whether the World Trade Center was in New York or possibly Chicago. We also discussed if it was an accident or on purpose. I was of the opinion that it was just some crazy accident. We didn't have TV hooked up in our apartment yet, so when I got off the phone with Melody I went back to sleep. Melody called me again when the second tower got hit. I was a little freaked out by that, since it was less easy to think it was an accident. I was also a little annoyed with Melody for bugging me when I wasn't feeling well. I tried to go back to sleep but I was spooked so I couldn't sleep. I turned on the TV to see if by some fluke I could get a picture. No luck. I turned on the radio to see if I could get anything there. What I heard just freaked me out even more instead of comforting me so I turned the radio back off. I just lay on the couch hoping that I would eventually fall back asleep. A little while later the windows of my apartment shook and there was a rumbling noise. I was scared. I turned on the radio again. This is what I heard: "A plane has hit on or near the Pentagon. We don't know yet exactly what has happened..." then they said something about "doubtless, hundreds are dead..." All I could think was "ON or NEAR? On or near? Which is it? On or near?" If a plane hit ON the Pentagon that meant my Richard was probably fine. If it was NEAR the Pentagon my Richard could be... I'm not sure I even let myself totally think that thought. But I know I started crying at that point. I left the radio on then. But they didn't have any new news. They started saying "a plane has hit the Pentagon" but I wasn't sure that they were saying it because it was true. What if they were just shortening it because near the Pentagon was close enough to so many other people? All I could do was wait and pace. I stood on the balcony of my apartment and watched the road into my apartment complex for my car safely carrying Richard back to me. But I wasn't sure if Richard would come to my apartment. What if he went to his parents house where he was living instead. I called his parents house. I spoke to his brother Kevin. I don't remember what Kevin said, but I do remember that it was very comforting to me. I waited more. I waited more. Finally I saw my car drive into the parking lot. I was waiting for Richard at the front door. We only stayed at my apartment for a few minutes. We went to Richard's parents house in Oakton. They had TV and, of course, Richard wanted to be near his family. At their house we sat in the dark basement and watched the TV coverage for hours. When we spoke, we whispered. No one laughed. No one spoke of everyday things. Time flew by and dragged at the same time. We watched some silly movie that night, still at Richard's parents' house. We needed a distraction - but it felt wrong and wasn't comforting or all that distracting.

health update

FYI - My surgery is scheduled for Friday (the 14th) at 10am. They say it only takes an hour for the actual surgery and that I'll only need an hour or so in the hospital after that to recover before Richard can come pick me up. We think that's pretty good timing because then Richard will be home for two days post surgery without having to take time off work. This week I am going to focus on teaching Asher to do things that I never thought I would teach him. For example, climbing into and out of his high chair and crib. I can't believe I'm gonna do that - but I have to since I'm not supposed to do any serious lifting for "a week or two" post-op.
My biggest problem right now is just having enough energy to be a Mom. Fruits and veggies don't exactly fill you up long term or leave you bursting with energy when they're the only things you've eaten all day. Yesterday I tested my boundaries by eating ONE chocolate chip cookie that Richard had sweetly made for a commitment I made before this all happened. One cookie left me in pain half the night and still this morning. So no more boundary testing for me!

A Gallbladder contest

I am feeling better today. I actually slept well last night for the first time in a long time. Apparently diet makes a really big difference. All I ate yesterday was plain rice and some saltines.

I met with my surgeon today. He requested some blood work, then he'll check with the insurance company, after the insurance company Ok's the surgery he'll call the hospital's scheduling dept and then the scheduling dept will call me. So, I won't even know when I am having the surgery until mid-next week it looks like.

With that in mind, it looks like I'm going to have to live on this incredibly-low-fat diet for a while. Especially because I am not allowed to take any pain meds because they thin your blood. So, I did a little more research about what I am supposed to eat, and what to avoid. It is grim. This is where the contest comes in. Go to http://gallbladderattack.com/gallbladderdiet.shtml. That will be your guidelines. Make up a complete meal. Leave it in the "comments". Whoever gives me the best meal wins my complete adoration and devotion (for at least an hour).

Happy meal planning (it's gonna be harder than you think).

From a small thing...continued

Note: This post won't make much sense without reading the previous one first.

Looks like I do need to have surgery to remove my Gallbladder. I got a recommendation from my fabulous OBGYN whom I basically worship for a surgeon. I have an appointment with that surgeon tomorrow. I assume after he looks at the films and confirms what my other family Dr told me that he will schedule the surgery. Hopefully soon! Because I'm supposed to eat minimally fattening things until then and there are 2 chocolate chip cookies sitting on my counter laughing at me. On the up side - a forced diet could help me loose some weight. Hard to complain about that!
Thanks for your prayers. Keep um' coming!

From a small thing...

From a small thing...big trouble has arrived. I realize that I could be talking about Asher. He is big trouble - and he did start out small. But alas, I am talking about my Gallbladder. Apparently it has turned against me. I feel so betrayed. Below is a picture that illustrates just how small this now-painful little thing is.

I won't gross you out with any details. Let's just say I was in a lot of pain, so we went to the Dr. and she said this is what it is. This afternoon I go to have a Sonogram to confirm what the Dr. is 99% sure of already and to tell us how bad it is. Then we will know if we are talking about surgery or treatment or what.

I am sorry to share such personal details with you all, but I figured any prayers that you wanted to send my way would be very helpful. I am pretty freaked out by the thought of surgery. And I am freaked out by the idea of ever being in as much pain as I was last night again.

Please don't share your horror stories with me quite yet. I don't want to know how bad it COULD be or how bad it was for you. I have plenty of worries all on my own. Some day, we can all sit around and share stories and compare scars, etc. But today is not that day.

Thanks for your prayers.

Great Grandma Helen

My Grandmother, Helen, lives with my parents. So I am lucky enough to see her on a regular basis. However, the last time we were in Texas visiting my parents, Grandma Helen was visiting other relatives. We are also lucky enough to live nearby my Aunt Nancy (no, the name is not a coincidence) here in Virginia. So this week Grandma Helen is visiting Aunt Nancy and we are lucky enough to get in on that visit. Anyway - that all seems like a complicated way of saying we got to see Grandma Helen yesterday. We had dinner with Aunt Nancy and family plus Grandma. This was Isaiah's first visit with his Great Grandmother so it was a picture-worthy event. Isaiah did a great job of performing all his best stunts (smiles, laughs, coos, wiggles and overall charm).

(You may notice in these pictures that Isaiah is wearing an adorable little tie. You may also notice that he is wearing it with the top button of his shirt un-buttoned. When we buttoned the shirt and put the little clip-on tie on he couldn't breath anymore because the boy still has no neck. It was very cute. But we thought maybe breathing was important so we un-did the top button.)

love languages

I recently learned about "love languages" and it has changed my entire thinking in my relationship with Richard. I think everyone should have a discussion with their significant other about what each of their love language is. I won't share with you what mine and Richard's love languages are - it seems a little too personal for a blog - but I had NO IDEA what Richard's was and we've been married nearly 6 years! I don't want to go into the world of plagerism, but here are the five:

Gifts

Acts of Service

Words of Affirmation

Touch

Quality Time

So, without discussing it before, guess what your partners love language is (and decide what yours is) then discuss. The one that I thought was Richard's turned out to be like #3 for him. It's amazing. I am so much more aware of what I can potentially do for Richard to show him how much I love him.

And I love him alot.

Asher the Velociraptor

You know that scene in Jurassic Park where they realize that the Raptors are intelligent because they keep testing the electric fence to see if it is still working, even though they get hurt every time? Asher is a Raptor. For example, a couple of months ago we realized our oven was broken because Asher walked up to it and put his hands on the glass window in front and burned himself. We replaced the oven immediately, of course, since it was obviously not safe. Ever since then Asher periodically test the oven's hot-ness by putting his hands on it. Another example, there are certain doors in our house that are just always kept closed. The laundry room door, the door to the basement, the bathroom door, the hall closet. All those doors are in one little hallway type area in our house. They are always kept closed. They have always been kept closed since we moved into this house. Occasionally Asher will walk up to one of those doors and just test it. And every once in a long while the door is open or not quite latched closed. Then he can have all kinds of fun splashing in the toilet or pulling all the lint balls out of the laundry room garbage can.

So, Asher is a Raptor. But a cute one.

Above, Asher has just flipped over the little side table and is scooting it around the house kind of like a skateboard. The side table is now safely locked in the basement. I know, removing it doesn't teach him anything - but believe me, I tried. I left that table there for a good two months after he learned to flip it over. Every time he did it I would say "no, no", right the table, and move Asher to the other side of the room and find some other toy for him. I think all the Child-Raising books I've read would agree that is the right thing to do. But, it just doesn't work with Asher! That little Velociraptor!

PS Asher just threw a book at me because I wouldn't stop to read it to him. I guess I'd better go before he goes T-Rex on me.

A big first

Naomi gave her first talk in Primary on Sunday. She was assigned to talk about the Holy Ghost. I admit to writing it for her, except for a few key phrases that she chose. For example, I said "I know I am feeling the Holy Ghost when..." and she completed the sentence as "I am happy in my body." Which I thought was very cute and a good way for a 3 year old to explain feeling the Holy Ghost. We practiced the talk at home with her standing on a chair and using a spatula as a mircophone (why didn't I take a picture of that?) We even practiced that Mommy whispers in your ear and then you say it out loud. She did a great job. She spoke clearly and loud (right on the verge of too loud, but not quite). She got giggles from the adults when she said "amimals" instead of "animals". She only stumbled once when she was supposed to say "Heavenly Father told Noah..." and she said "Noah told Noah..." Anyway, it was super cute and while she was very composed and graceful, I almost lost it in giggles at the "amimals" and in tears at the end. Below she is holding her talk and showing off her pretty new dress (it's just a coincidence that she had a new dress for this, her very first public appearance in church, but I admit that if she hadn't had a new dress anyway I would have been tempted to buy one).

Blogger fame

A friend sent me an email (note to all of you - I don't actually like "those" emails sent from a friend) with a link in it to an e-bay auction that has already finished, but is absolutely hysterical. You MUST read it! And then go look at this women's blog and be amazed by her overnight rise to fame.

http://cgi.ebay.com/LOT-OF-POKEMON-CARDS-THAT-MY-KIDS-TRIED-TO-SNEAK-BY-ME_W0QQitemZ130144061675QQihZ003QQcategoryZ60238QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

OK, have you read all about her? Is your mouth hanging open? I am totally infatuated with this women's rise to fame on the internet. What can I do that is so clever and witty that it will draw the attention of thousands all over the world to my little blog? And why do I WANT to draw all that attention? I am not usually an attention-seeking person - but internet attention sounds like fun to me! I seriously lay (?laid, lie?) in bed last night thinking about this women's story and what I can do that is similar enough so that I don't have to have an original idea but dissimilar enough that it would catch fame. That is a little bit sad.

Oh well. I guess I'll just live my life of anonymity. Maybe I'll be like one of those artists that are not famous until after they're dead. Or maybe one of my children will be famous and that will give me my "in" to society. Then I can be like Paris Hilton (not in the totally lame, skanky way, but in the famous for just being famous kind of way). Naomi could be a famous ballet dancer. Or Asher could play football or soccer. He could be Asher the Basher! Or maybe Isaiah will live up to his hair-do and become a real rock-star!

I think I've totally left reality for a while. Oh well, it was a nice visit to la-la-land.

Here's a picture of me being a Mom to bring me back to reality. But really, all I have to do is look behind me at the mess in the family room to be brought back to that reality rather quickly.

Beautiful, loving children

Growing up, I always imagined having multiple little girls to dress in beautiful matching dresses with fancy hair-do's and such (probaby because my Mom did that with my sisters and I). We were glad when we found out Isaiah was going to be a boy because he and Asher can play together so much, but I was a little sad to not be getting a second girl. I'm sure my other girl (s) will come along eventually, but in the mean time I realized that I can fulfill a little bit of that childhood dream of mine by dressing my boys alike! So here are my boys in their matchy-matchy outfits and Naomi in her semi-coordinated outfit.

Asher thinks Isaiah is a great toy to play with - but that means he's not very good at being gentle (notice Asher's hand is using Isaiah's stomach to balance!)

Isaiah doesn't come down to Asher's level very often (Isaiah is usually safely in his port-a-crib) so a visit down on floor level was very exciting to Asher.

This one is blurry, I know, but it was just too cute to not include. That little smile from behind the xuxa (xuxa [shoe-sha] is Portugese for pacifier) is just so typical Asher. I love that little smirk.

Ahhhhh! Brotherly love! So cute!

This one looks a little like Naomi and Asher are paying homeage to Isaiah. But really they are giving him "loves". Which basically means laying your head on someone.

Ahhhhhh! Sisterly love!

Who could resist poking those chubby little cheeks? (Oh wait, did I mean Isaiah's chubby cheeks, or Ashers?)

This is Asher taking a picture of Isaiah with the play-camera. He is such a good little copy-cat right now.

Naomi giving more "loves" to Isaiah.

an award winning smile

Anybody know of one of those "cute baby contests"? Cuz I think this guy has one adorable little face.

Flower Bed Facelift

Within days of moving into our new house (just about one year ago), we had a plumbing problem that required a giant hole to be dug in our front yard. Nancy wasn't thrilled with the bushes that had been in the flower bed, so she didn't have the workers put them back. What we were left with was a bed FULL of giants rocks and lots of clay. Over the last year we threw in some boxwoods and planted some new grass, but the bed needed some TLC. See below for some before and after pics.

Before: Nancy and Naomi taking out rocks and leveling (the picture doesn't show it but the dirt kept sinking around the pipe, so the middle bush is about 12 inches too deep).

After: Nancy and I got some new soil, mulch, and a couple flowers at Home Depot.

A good day's work. Now for the rest of the yard...

Blast to blogger

Is anyone else out there in Blogger World frustrated with Blogger? It never puts the photos where I want them. Or the correct text next to the appropriate photo. I guess if I really cared I would learn to use the Html thingy - but lets face it, that just ain't gonna happen. So for now, my blogs are sometimes a little wonky. Or at least, they're wonky until Richard comes home, see's my post, gets frustrated by how dumb the post looks, and fixes it using Html.
Thank goodness for my geek husband.

Trip to Utah and Idaho

This past weekend we flew to SLC Utah, spent the night with my sister Angela, drove to Lava Hot Springs, Idaho, attended a Worth family reunion (Richard's Dad's siblings and families), drove back to SLC, hung out with Worth family (Richard's siblings) and spent another day with Angela. Here is the trip, as documented through photos:

Above is Asher with his cousin Jesse who is the same age. Getting a picture of the two of them was quite a trick since "playing together" at this age pretty much means stealing toys from each other.

Here is Naomi with cousin Haley. They are best friends and just love to play. Their little imaginagtions just run wild together.

Here is cousin Logan playing piano with Asher. All of Angela's boys were great helpers and my kids really enjoyed them.

Here is Naomi with cousin Andrew. Naomi is a devoted follower of Andrew's. I think she asked me at least 300 times during the 2 days we were with them "Where is Andrew?" It seems Naomi just couldn't quite keep up. But she sure had fun trying.

Naomi playing peek-a-boo with cousin Scott and Asher. (We were about to go swimming at the fabulous pool at Lava Hot Springs.)

Asher and cousin Scott taking a bath together. I guess I have a thing for putting embarassing photos of Asher on this blog. Sorry Asher. You're just too cute.

At the family talent show, cousin Hyrum (seated) re-enacted The Cheeseburger Song from Veggie Tales. Hyrum's Dad, Carl sung and Richard accompanied them on the guitar.

We ended the reunion with a visit to the graveyard in Lund, Idaho where Richard's Grandparents are buried.

The Grant Worth Clan then gathered at Richard's sister Nancy's house is SLC for a little more hanging out and dinner. The dinner was scrum-diddley-umptious. But their little town house was pretty much filled to totally over-flowing. This photos is Richard's sisters Stephanie and Nancy posing with a cut-out of Karen, who is serving her mission right now.

So we headed back to Angela's house for the night and the next day.

We went to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Pointe.

Adorable little Jesse and Asher again - playing side by side while totally ignoring each other.

Cousin Roscoe and Asher were good buddies. Roscoe was a big help.

Asher, Naomi, Haley, and Levi about to be eaten by a Prehistoric Shark.

Alltogether - I need more recovery time from this short trip than I did for my 2 week trip to Texas. It was quite a whirlwind - but a load of fun. And we are so glad we got the chance to play with those far away cousins. We love you all!

Dance With Me

Sometimes we like to turn on some loud music (Naomi-speak for fast) and dance.

Tonight that's what we did for our Family Home Evening activity. See below for a video.



The song is 'Feeling Good' by Michael Buble.

a visitor and a thank you

Today I have two totally unrelated topics to blog about.

First, my mom-in-law, Margaret, blogged a little about our visitors this weekend. Richard's sister Stephanie was here for several days with her husband, Steve. We only saw Steve once as he headed to the airport, but we got several nice visits with Stephanie. As Margaret said, she forgot to take any photos. I only took one, but here it is.

Stephanie, Kevin, Kelly and Isaiah

Second, during my visit to Texas recently my Mom let me pick out my birthday present at Ikea. As soon as she mentioned this plan I knew exactly what I wanted. I have admired this chandelier for about a year now. It has electrical lights (they're the newest fad! You've got to try them!) but also places for candles (the candles have not been purchased yet, so you don't see them in the photo). Anyway, thanks Mom! I love it.

In this picture you may also note the beautiful table runner made for me by my talented sister Angela when she visited me recently. Thank, Ang!

love

There are some pictures that you can just feel love through.

A mess

My house has been a bit of a mess lately. Here's proof...



(I admit it, I broke down and did the dishes after I took this picture. It was too gross.)

(The above picture is included to show that Naomi got so desperate for someone to play with, that she resorted to turning her brother into Ariel's sister Alana. Naomi is, of course, Ariel.)
(This picture will also be used as blackmail to keep Asher is line during his dating years.)
(It should also be noted that this picture was NOT taken in the early morning, and yet Asher and Naomi are both still in their PJ's)

And here's why...

My book club is doing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows this month. I didn't get my hands on a copy until Monday afternoon, and the club meets on Thursday night. But I guess I could have taken the time to do the dishes, because I actually finished reading Wednesday night. Then I went into serious HP Withdrawl. I had been living in his world so intently, and for so long that I nearly called my family Muggles and tried to get the dishes to do themselves using my spatula as a wand.