Grandma Smith Squared

Grandma Vivian Smith with some of her grandchildren. (l to r) Lane, Madison, Isabella Rosales, and Porter.

The twins and Lane love this Grandma Rhonda Smith. She does so much with them. They think they have the coolest grandma in the world. She let's them jump on her bed.

The kids are lucky to have so many grandparents. They are very loved! Madison knows how to kiss up.

Madi, Madi

What a little bundle of intelligence. This girl can not get enough of learning. She wants to read so bad. I have her practicing her alphabet now. She has almost gotten all of it down as far as being able to recognize each letter.

She's a smart little manipulator too. She wanted to go back to the library one day and we had already gone the day before. To try and convince me to take her back, she said, "Mom, we didn't thank our teacher yesterday. We need to go back and tell her thank you."

She is an extremely good Little Mama. She takes care of everyone. She loves to feed Isabella and take care of Lane. She just bosses Porter around. She is also my "Sergeant of Arms" reminding everyone of what the family rules are. No yelling, no hitting, and Mom is in charge. She often points her finger at her little brothers and says, "You listen to your Mudder! She is in charge." She looks at me for approval.

I forgot to mention this earlier, but about a month ago she informed me that she wasn't going to wear diapers to bed anymore. I was a little nervous, but she insisted that she didn't need them. Because we have mattress protectors, I told her we would try it and see how it goes. It's been about a month now and she has had four accidents. She is very upset when she does this. Last night, she was so excited because her "body woke her up to go to the bathroom." And, Porter, he'll probably be wearing a diaper to bed for a long time. He thinks being able to pee in bed is great.

She definitely has a stubborn streak and is very headstrong. It's be a challenge to work with her on some things

My Little Lane

He is such a character. I can't quite figure him out yet. He has this silent, but deadly personality. He will wander around the house very quietly, then you find out what he's been getting into. He dotes on his cousin Isabella, who is 5 months younger than him. He loves to follow the twins around and thinks he is as big as they are.

He's still only got his front 8 teeth. However, his teeth are starting to come in in the back. Bumps on the bottom, and teeth actually coming through on the top. He has been slow to get all of this teeth. He is very much a jokester and loves to play jokes on people. He's not as funny as he thinks he is. He's actually funny because he's trying to be funny. He thinks he can scare people. He let's out this little, "Baa!!" I think he is trying to say, "Boo!" If you're not paying attention you hardly notice his little roar. But if you pretend he scared the dickens out of you when he does it, he thinks it's hilarious.

He is alot like Brant. A total daredevil and thrill seeker. He is also quietly mischievous. But, he's also very sensitive and loves to give everyone kisses. He has a problem hitting you in the face when he wants to tell you that he loves you. Usually, he kisses you then hits you. Brant said he understands him completely. Wow! Okay, therapy already.

I am excited that he will be old enough to go into nursery soon. His first day is November 22nd--Brian's birthday. Can't wait. It will be strange that I will have three little ones in nursery at the same time. They're all movin' on up!

We took him out of his crib this past week. It was rough at first, but he seems to be getting the hang of it now. He sleeps in bed with Porter. Porter was much happier about it than he was. Porter likes to try to climb inside of people, he loves them so much. Lane, on the other hand doesn't like his feet covered or anyone to be touching him. (Not even me.) He's a very rude bed buddy. He has "allowed" Porter to sleep next to him. Porter tries so hard to get as close as he can, but Lane puts the kabosh on too much closeness. He probably thinks it's gay to sleep that close to his brother. That's what Brant would think.

He wants to go "bye-bye" with whomever is leaving out the door. On the rare occasion he does get to go, he is tickled pink. He has learned to open the front door, so we have to be very careful and lock it. The other day I heard the front door shut and when I went to check it, he had let himself back IN! He was covered in mud and had been playing in the flower bed. I am just glad he didn't wander down the street.

He doesn't have any attachments to blankies or binkies like Madison and Porter did. He's just his own little mold. He is a great little baby of the family.

It's Been A Walk In the Park

I have not been keeping up with all of the blogging I need to be doing. I know I often write to the masses, but really the true purpose of my blog is to keep a journal.

We are glad to see the hot Vegas summer come to an end. We are starting in the Fall climate that we love! Mornings have been 72 to 76 degrees. And trust me, after a scorching summer that is a refreshing cool.

We took the kids to the water park for Family Night on Monday. That's where I took this picture. Brant is SO good with the kids. They love playing with him.

We are still struggling with money. I can't complain though, it's not such a bad trial. We have our family and our health. I am grateful for that. I am being very picky about jobs that I am applying for. I want to find the perfect one that will work with our family schedule. We definitely NEED--not just want the extra money. But, we also want to find something that will work around the kids schedule and allow them to be with one parent most of the time.

The kids are growing and changing so fast. The twins are getting smarter every day. Madison is just too much fun. I think I like her intellectual side. Can a three year old be your best friend? She's like a mini-me so we have a good time talking. Yesterday at the library she started organizing the Disney cart of books. She was dismayed that the Princess books were not all in one section. She didn't stop until she went through every bin and and put them in the right place. She makes me so proud.

I have been helping the kids do a kitchen chore every morning after breakfast. Madison is in charge of cleaning the counter where they eat and Porter has to sweep the floor under their chairs. This morning, Madison came downstairs and frustrated said, "Hey! I just cleaned this counter! Who messed it up?" Spoken like a real woman.

Yesco, where Brant works, has already had two layoffs this year. They have a third one scheduled for Friday. Brant found out yesterday, that he won't be getting laid off. That's good news.

I have been working on Ari's blog (http://www.prayforari.blogspot.com/ ) more than my own blog. She is such a sweet little girl. I pray for their family. They are being so strong. It breaks my heart to see their story. But, they are setting an example of strength for all of us.

I've thought about taking up writing again. I do love to write. I just need to get focused.

I guess that's it. Everything is in the following pictures I'll post.

Hot Date with Grandma and Grandpa

I have been trying to teach the twins about the days of the week. So we have 7 8-1/2 x 11 different colored sheets of paper in a row on the wall. They each have the day printed on the top of them. We put a photo on each paper in relation to what is going on that day. For example, Dad's picture is on each day Monday through Friday. That means Dad is going to work. On Monday is family night; Tuesday is Library day; Friday is pizza day; and Saturday, we have a picture of the park. So Wednesday night we put a picture of Grandma and Grandpa up.
My in-laws are so cool. They do so much stuff with the kids. The twins got a "hot date" with them on Wednesday night. They took them to Chuck E. Cheese and out to Golden Spoon afterwards. They were so tired when they came home, it was like they were slippinginto a coma.
I almost planned a date with Brant since they were going to be gone. Then we realized we didn't have to go out to be alone--we would be home alone. It was relaxing.

Dawn takes more than grease out of your way

So last pay period...we hit broke about a week before pay day. I mean really broke. Zero balance in the savings, checking, and credit cards. Too many trips to St. George in the last month and not enough income. We ran out of dish detergent and trash bags and seriously had no money to buy any. I was literally digging up change around the house just to buy a gallon of milk.

But this little adversity gave me an opportunity to discover an often overlooked miracle. That is the magic of dish detergent. I can't figure out what is in it that makes it work so well. Let me give you a little more info. In light of being out of dish detergent, I decided to replace it with my Tide laundry soap. I had plenty of that. I know what you're thinking. That will overflow the dish washer with suds. Already thought of that...or rather remembered what happened when I did that to my Mom's dishwasher back in high school. So I used just a tiny bit. It worked okay, but just didn't do the same job. I couldn't wait until I had $4.28 to get my 11 ounces of Cascade. It would beautifully. But why? Why does it work?

You know me. I can't let a dead dog die, I mean I actually looked up why there are no B batteries. See this post: http://lizlanehibbard.blogspot.com/2009/01/i-just-couldnt-let-it-go.html.

Fortunately, in this day and age a new "Idol" has immerged for us to "speak" to and idolize. I mean the Greeks and the Romans may have had their share of "Gods" but could they ask them questions and get answers. No, they just made up stories about why things happened they way they did. If I were a Roman way back when, I would have to create a dishwasher God. And then create some story about his "magic dust" that made dishes. Or maybe it would be a goddess. Yea, much more likely to be the Dishwasher Goddess. Our modern god is none other than "Google: the god of all knowledge." Here's what I found:

Dishwashing detergent contains approximately 30 percent phosphates. Phosphates remove calcium that can build up on the dishes. The chemical also causes food to break apart and dissolve. It aids in preventing the accumulation of hard water on the dishes and silverware.
The detergent also uses enzymes in its composition. The enzymes dissolve food deposits, oil and collections of fat. They break down the deposits on the cellular level by loosening the peptides and proteins of food and fat.

Detergents use bleach and 5 percent surfactants to clean and further break down fat. The bleaching agents are chlorine based and clean the items washed as well as dissolve food deposits. The surfactants liquefy oils and fats, and stop water spotting as the items dry.

By the way, in my bit of research I discovered that dish detergent will help remove grass stains. There was some scientific basis for it, but that's way over my head. I hope you find this as interesting as I did. Yes....sometimes too much free time on my hands. I know. Maybe now you'll understand the freaky dynamics of the brain that Madison has inherited from me.

They say you always have one child just like yourself

Madison is "my" child. I have to say I am quit entertained by her intelligence and logic. She cracks us all up. It is very difficult to have an argument with her. And, she does not settle for "...because I said so." Her brain is in a different sphere. Here are some examples.
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MADI: Mom, I would like ice cream for breakfast.
ME: No, Madi. Ice cream is not good for your body.
MADI: It is too good for my body! My body loves it.
ME: Madi, you don't understand health and nutrition. You don't know what you're talking about.
MADI: (insulted) I do to understand! It is good. I know it's good. It has chocolate chips in it.
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ME: Hablo Espanol un pequita. Do you know what I said? I said I speak Spanish a little.
MADI: Don't talk like that. Spanish is a bad word.
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During our closing prayer, while the missionaries were over Madison walked into the room. In a LOUD whisper she said: What are they doing, Mom?
ME: They're praying.
MADI: Oh...for you? (As if I needed some prayers)
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This is in reference to her favorite movie, Land Before Time.
MADI: Mom, Cera's dad is very angry. He is always mad. I should teach him to be nice.
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MADI: Grandma, when are you going to take me on a hot date?
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I was trying to get Lane to watch Porter pee on the toilet. They were both standing there naked (getting ready to take a bath). I was explaining to Lane what Porter was doing. Then I put him on the toilet. I could see Madison watching us. She has always had a litte penis envy. She still doesn't understand why she doesn't have one. So I know her little mind was tick-tocking. When we were done she hopped up on the toilet and announced, "Oh yeah! Look what my vagina can do!" (Has anyone in the history of the world EVER said that?
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I know she has more. She says stuff every day that cracks me up.

Confessions of a Binky Addict

Porter has found some old binky's. My goodness, when we got him to "give up" the binky, we had to pry the binkies from his cold, dead hands to get him to quit. We got rid of all of them. Somehow he found some. Poor Lane never got to enjoy the bliss of a binky because Porter was, I mean IS, so addicted to them he would steal them. He has even taken them from other babies. Early signs of addiction tendencies. Oh no! Hope this is not a sign of future problems.

He "disappeared" for awhile and I could not find him in the house. I was calling his name and looking for him. I finally found him--curled up on the bathroom floor--with the binky he found.

This video clip is of me trying to get Porter to admit he has a problem. Because admitting you have a problem is the first step. It's funny.

Water Park

We have been talking about taking the kids to a water park all summer and of course, just never got around too it. It's still blazing hot in Vegas in September so I took them to a park less than 5 miles from our house. It was a perfect recommendation from my FIL, Wayne. Thanks! Brant was out of town helping with a car show. We had a good time. I would love to go there again.

New Blog Just for Ari

I am realizing there is such an important journey to document, that the entirety of it does not belong on my blog. I want to have a special blog for Ari. Please encourage and share the address with anyone who wants to keep up with her. And, please, remember to pray for her. I know the power of prayer works. She needs a whole of prayers if she is going to make it. The new address is: www.prayforari.blogspot.com

ARI: Thanks for the prayers

I have heard so many wonderful supportive thoughts from so many people. You certainly learn how far your web of life spans when there is a crisis. I am thankful to so many of our "Page" family who has sent me notes. I will forward them to Travis and Haley. Though the Page people have spread out across the globe, they are always so close and tight knit. Thank you to everyone. And please...don't stop praying. Miracles can happen. Also, please share this blog address with anyone you know who many know Travis and Haley and would like to join in praying on their behalf.

Ari: Comments from Donalyn

September 8, 2009 10:37 AM. From DONALYN (LANE) SHOCK: Liz, one of the first signs was the break out on her head back in May or June. Remember at the Family reunion? Haley took her to a Dr. and he said it was Cradle Cap and gave her medicine. But, it never cleared up. I think Haley took her in a secound time but you will need to double check that.
Anyway the doctors at Primary Children's Hospital said that would have been one of the first signs of this LCH. Travis told me last night that there are only about 50 cases of this in the US. It is so rare, that is why doctors miss it. When Travis and Haley can, I would like to see them put something together with all the symptoms. We can email the information around to everyone to help bring more awareness. Also, to help make the doctors more aware of it. If the doctors could have caught this earlier her case could be much better. It is just so new so they don't know.
Thanks for doing the blog so people can keep up on everything. Travis had me bring the kids up there so Him and Haley could come outside and see them. It was good for the kids to see them and be able to ask questions. They had a really good visit. I may have a few pictures that I can forward you.

Ari's Updates for Monday

Monday, September 7. 10:06 a.m. VICKI: This is what the swelling is from. FWD: (from Mom) Partly the steroids and her liver is enlarged.

Monday, September 7. 9:49 a.m. VICKI: Much better night. The drs. said she is stable. Mom said for the next few days there won't be much news unless she turns for the worse because they are doing a low grade chemo on her. It will take 2-3 days before they know if it's helping. At that point if it's not working then they have to do an aggressive high dose chemo. So hopefully no turns for the worse. I'm finding out why she is swollen. Mom hasn't text me back on that one. Oh and they can't give her tylenol anymore for the pain because her liver is too enlarged and struggling.

Ari's Update

For those of you who don't know, my brother Travis' daughter, Ari, has been diagnosed with LCH. She is currently in Primary Children's Hospital. They have so many people who care about them and are praying for them. I put the information on my blog so that those who would like, may read about how she is doing. Jaymi also summed up her history and condition really well...I won't try to recreate it. http://kingskourt.blogspot.com/

Her history as transmitted via text messages to the family. Most recent texts are posted first in the reading order:

Sunday, September 6. 11:01 a.m. VICKI: Bad night. She was moved to ICU. Her platelets are suppose to be 150. Hers are 8. She is having another blood transfusion. They did get the pick line in this morning. They are aggressively going to treat the LCH. They aren't waiting for anymore tests to come back. They said they are in emergency mode so they will start treatment without confirmations.

Saturday, September 5. 5:46 p.m. VICKI: The pick line was unsuccessful. They tried for over an hour, but her veins were too little. They couldn't get it in. They are going to try again in the morning so she's going back to getting poked every four hours. Mom said the poor thing falls asleep everytime right before they come in again.
Saturday, September 5. 1:21 p.m. VICKI: Ari is having a pick ?? placed at 3:00 I'm not familiar with it. But I guess they install a line in her that is like a tube that goes directly to her heart so when she has medication given to her she won't be poked everytime. My Mom said that her veins are so hard to find that it's been awful every time they have to give her medicien and right now that's every 4 hours. To have the pick installed is a surgery with general anesthesia, but it will be better for her.

Saturday, September 5. 9:58 a.m. VICKI: Drs. haven't said anything. but Ron was just reading about it. He said that he found a more medically based website (he kept reading words that I couldn't pronounce.) Anyway, it listed a spectrum of the cancer. The good end is a focal LCH where it has affected one area. That has an 80-90% survival. However multi-symptom (and the more symptoms you have the worse) is at the far end of the spectrum and it has a less than 50% survival rate because it gets into all of the organs and starts shutting them down. She has every single symptom...and she has the lesions on the brain, enlarged liver and spleen, and fluid in the lungs. My Mom said they asked one of the drs. last night what the chances of survival were and she wouldn't give them an answer.

Friday, September 4. 6:55 p.m. TRAVIS: http://www.cancerbackup.org.uk/cancertype/childrenscancers/Typesofchildrenscancers/Langerhanscellhistiocytosis

Friday, September 4. 6:53 p.m. TRAVIS: If anyone wants to read up on what the doctors believe Ari has this site explains it the best. I will send it in the following text.

Friday, September 4, 2009 4:58 p.m.
VICKI (in Alaska): Well they have some answers. It's not leukemia it's actually worse. It's cancer and it's called LCH. They said it's really hard to explain it. The best thing they said to do is google LCH. She is scheduled for a cat scan tomorrow. They have to see where it has spread. It is treated with chemo but they didn't give any statistics.

Thursday, September 3, 2009 4:27 p.m. JAKE: Hey. We are breaking the fast now.

September 2, 2009 6:15 p.m.
HALEY: We are starting another fast for Ari. Her surgery is at 2:30 so we will end it at 5. Tell anyone you want. They think she has leukemia. Thanks.

Ari's Sedation prior to Pick Surgery

This is video of Ari getting her medication to be sedated before going into surgery. Haley is with her. We were able to watch her on Skype and my camera video taped my computer screen. The technology is pretty cool. I wish it was video of something different than this, but grateful to "be" there anyway.

And here's Lane...

He is such a happy kid...and a little mischievous. I am afraid he is going to be like Brant. He stuck and pair of suitcase keys into an outlet a couple of days ago and of course, threw the circuit. I was close enough to it that is sparked my arm. He loves his soft blankets. He STILL only has his front eight teeth. One is slowly coming through on his upper left side. He can say quite a few words: He says "Ma" for Mom and "Mam Mam" for Grandma. It sounds very close. Only a trained mother's ear would know the difference. He also can say on and off, outside, baba (bottle), and yea, that's about it. Not very verbal yet. He climbs like a monkey and can scale any cabinet. He can get on the kitchen counter from the floor--and the bathroom counter. Yesterday, he figured out how to climb into his height chair. He moved Isabella's walker (yes it has wheels) and climbed on it to get in the chair. And, he did this while Isabella was in the height chair.

Another accident streak for Madi

Madison, unfortunately, has my accident prone-ness. This black eye she is sporting is because she turned around too fast and ran into her own dresser. The other pink spots on her face are from getting into my permanent lipstick. It DOES NOT come off! It's horrible. It's like nail polish or something. Yesterday, she slipped on the patio and fell flat on the back of her head. She has a big goose egg. I'm sorry Madi, you get that from me.

I am thankful for the fleas

My visiting teacher once shared an incredible story she read in a book about the Holocaust. It was about two sisters who ended up in a concentration camp. One sister was humble, grateful, and full of faith in God’s plan for her. The other sister, though, was more like the rest of us—struggling to be thankful in the face of their horrible situation. Somehow, they managed to smuggle a Bible into the camp, and it became their lifeline. They loved reading from it together.

One day, as they were reading, the humble sister came across a passage that said to give thanks to God in all circumstances. The other sister couldn’t believe it. She asked, “How can we possibly be thankful for this?” But the humble sister started listing all the things they could be thankful for. She said they could be grateful that they were together when so many families had been separated. They could be thankful that they had smuggled the Bible in and could share the word of God with the other women in the camp. She was even thankful for being surrounded by so many other women because it gave them a chance to bring hope to others.

The other sister, still doubtful, shot back, “And what about the fleas? Are we supposed to be thankful for them too?” Their bunkhouse was infested with fleas, and every night, they’d crawl into bed and feel tiny bites on their legs. It seemed impossible to see any good in that.

But the humble sister, without hesitation, said, “Yes, even for the fleas. They are part of God’s plan, too.”

Later, when they were released from the camp, they learned something incredible. Their bunkhouse had been the only one with such a terrible flea problem, and because of it, the soldiers refused to enter. The fleas had kept them safe from the verbal and physical abuse that other prisoners endured. As awful as they seemed at the time, the fleas turned out to be a blessing.

This story really stuck with me and humbled me as I thought about my own complaints and murmuring. Maybe the trials we face—no matter how unpleasant—are actually protections we can’t see in the moment. It reminded me that God knows what each of us needs and that we have to trust Him, even when it’s hard.

Now, whenever life feels overwhelming, I remind myself of that story. I remind myself to be thankful for the fleas.

St. George Quickie

I took the kids over to St. George for a quick trip. We stayed at Travis' house Monday night and then came back on Tuesday night. Vicki and her family, along with Mom, Jaymi, Krew, Jay and Ashley Shock, also came down from Mt. Pleasant. And, of course, Kim was already in St. George. My kids had a blast with their cousins. They always have so much fun seeing them.
When we were getting ready to leave, the yard was full of kids. Some little neighborhood boy wandered into the crowd. I don't know where his parents were. He must have been about 2 years old. No one seemed to notice him or mind that he was there. He was just another kid. Porter came running up to me yelling, "Mom, come see! Come See!" He drug me over to the boy and said, "Look!" I said, "Yes, Porter I see him. But, we need to get ready to go." Porter said, "Can we take him home with us?" I had to laugh. I said, "Porter, I don't think his Mom would like us to do that."

Dinosaur Tracks

We went to St. George last week to hang out with family. I had a few meetings to go to. Haley and I took our kids to the Dinosaur Musuem. I have to say it wasn't a great place for small children, but I think they had fun anyway. It's more of an older-kid thing. We took them to the little park afterwards. They had fun.

I have been super-busy. Waiting to hear back on a possible job with Paul Mitchell as an Admissions Leader. I have a second interview on Saturday.

Better to give than to receive

I have been reading Deepak Chopra's, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success. The book is amazing. It is a small book, but I have been reading is slowly and sometimes reading chapters over again. The last chapter I read was on The Law of Giving. It explains how we must always be giving to others. That does not necessarily mean that we give things or money. It can be a prayer given on behalf of someone. It can be kind words or compassion. Each chapter I read I have been trying absorb into my life. This past week I have been trying to "give" something to everyone I come in contact with. It really changes your mindset.
I took the kids to Jack-in-the-Box on Saturday. While there, I noticed how hard the front counter person was working. She was also running drive-thru. I've actually had to do that before and it is not fun! I'm sure some of you have to. The most frustrating thing is that the people coming through drive-thru don't realize how hard you're working and they're frustrated because you're not moving fast enough.
A group of senior citizens came in--and contrary to the nice old lady/man image that they're supposed to have--I am of the opinion that old people are onry and cranky. Anyway, this group was no exception. They all only wanted coffee. And, of course, they were frustrated that she didn't already have enough coffee made for all of them. (Like she would know the local Senior Center was taking a field trip.) Despite their mood, she was friendly and courteous to each one. Oh, and did I mention she looked at least 6 months pregnant?
Anyway, I thought I am going to tell her what a great job she is doing. Then, I thought, it would be even better if I wrote her a note. She could show it to people and hang on to it. So I scribbled a small paragraph to her. I walked past the counter to see her nametag. I wrote her name of the front of the napkin and left it with the cashier. (A guy came in to run front counter while we were there.)
I can only imagine how happy my note must have made her. I am not singing praises to myself--don't get me wrong. It just made me feel really good to take the time to give to someone else. It took me off of the focus of my own problems and helped me to see that someone else was working harder than I was. I guess I bring this up today, because I want to share with everyone the opportunity to give to others. It is such a wonderful thing. I hope everyone will practice the Law of Giving more. Once you start doing it, it can be hard to stop. And, the best part is, I believe the giver gets more than the receiver. It is true that it is better to give than to receive.

Kid Chat

These are silly little sayings...I am sure only a mother would love, but funny nonetheless.

A couple of days ago I announced to Porter I was going to quit as Mom for the day. I was tired. He could be in charge. His response: "But Mom! I already AM in charge. If Lane goes on the stairs I'll tell you." He was so serious and made me life, so I thought I would try it on Madison. She got a little upset and said, "Mom!" (with a big emphasis). "I don't wan't to be Mom, I want to be Madison!"
*****
The twins have really gotten into singing lately. They don't know all the words, so sometimes when they're listening to us sing, they're a few words behind. Yesterday in church Madison was singing--and I mean singing! She was off-key and loud. Right in the middle of the song, she turns to Brant as if she is both surprised and amazed and very sincerely says, "Dad! I sing GOOD!"
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Instead of telling me they are hungry, they have started saying, "Mom, my tummy is telling me that it needs some food!"
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Yesterday Brant took Lane into nursery. He's at that really back stage where it's hard to keep in still through 3 hours, but he's only months away from being old enough to go to nursery. So, sometimes Brant takes him into nursery to entertain him. Of course, the twins are in their too. A little boy came up to Lane and just hit him. Brant watched to see what Lane would do. He looked around, picked up a toy and promptly hit him back. The boy started hitting Lane and then kicked him. Lane looked at him like he was an idiot and then walked away.

Star Trek...and the next generation

The STNG Convention (short for "Star Trek the Next Generation" for those of you non-trekkies. Okay, that's all of you.) is in Las Vegas this week. My keen STNG radar caught all of the news blurbs on it. I have always secretly wanted to go, but didn't ever want to have to admit that I have been to one. Now I know how gay people must feel when they really want to come out of the closet, but can't. I never liked the old Star Trek (and please make sure you are saying Tre-k, not Track--You Vicki, totally you :) The old one is so totally different from the STNG.
Anyway, it got me thinking about my next generation--that is my children. They're only 3 years old and they've already Skyped to their cousins. How weird is that? What I used to watch as a science fiction program on TV is reality for my children.
I think about what technological advances have happened in my lifetime already. (A mere 38 years and 10 months.) Wow! I vividly remember get a big, huge, honkin' microwave. It was so cool! I was like, we don't have to warm the potatoes up in a pan on the stove? That's so wild. Our first "computer" typewriter was the bomb. At the time, I guess we would have called it totally awesome. Then we did get a computer. A real one. It had a DOS program system on it. It was so archaic. Forget Wii, Xbox, and Playstation. We were all about Atari. Ping Pong anyone? And who needed Limewire for your Ipod or MP3 player when there was a perfectly good jukebox down the street? I could go on and on and on. It just makes me wonder what my children will see in their lifetime. It's exciting to imagine the possibilities. And just for those who need to hear it:

Space: The final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship, Enterprise. Its 5 year mission. To explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no man has gone before.

Just Stuff

I have little things that have come to mind to write about, but haven't sat down to add them. I have to remind myself that I am doing a blog so that I can chronicle/journal my children's childhood. Sometimes I think I am a weekly columnist and have to have a theme or topic to write about.
The weather in Vegas is starting to cool down. We are able to enjoy a chilly low of 83 degrees now. The daytime has also dipped a few degrees to around 100-103. I am really looking forward to the next month when it will get even better. I remember Vicki always saying that if you could bear the four hot months of summer in Vegas, the rest of the year was fabulous. (I don't think she said, "fabulous," but you know what I mean.)
I am back to trying to come up with ways to earn extra money. Rhonda and I went "yard saling" last Saturday. We found a great wooden bunk bed with a built in desk and a separate chest of drawers and mirror. They sold it to us for $100. We have been working on refurbishing it. It looks really good. We only have to put the Satin finish on it and then it will be ready to resell. We also found what we call "roadkill." These people here in Summerlin put perfectly good furniture out on the side of the road. (Say that with my white trash accent.) What can I say, we will do anything for a buck. We picked up some roadkill on Saturday--a nice TV stand. It was out for the trash as it appeared the family dog had it's way with the corners. We took it home and built out the corners with some wood glue, dry mix, and such. We are also in the process of re-finishing it.
I am starting back up on my credit restoration business. I enjoy it. Would enjoy it more if someone actually paid me to fix their credit for them. I have my blog going and am working on a website. I have all my numbers--800#, fax, phone, etc. My ads are out--just waiting for the phone or email to overflow.
Lane is finally starting to get a back tooth. Poor kid has had his front four top and bottom since he was 5-7 months old and hasn't gotten any more. The twins say he is turning into a "Sharp Tooth." Their "Land Before Time" reference. Sometimes they'll yell, "Watch out! Here comes the Sharp Tooth!" Lane just grins and chases after them. They are totally into The Land Before Time series. We found some clearance toys that were squishy dinosaurs at Target. They were only a $1.48. Porter immediately named his Spike and Madison calls hers Sara. They are actually the same type of each of those--but not TLBT brand. They take those dinosaurs everywhere with them. It's the best $1.48 spent this month.
I went to the temple this morning with Rhonda. It was really nice. I haven't been for about 3 weeks now. I was going every week and have really missed it. They say the temple cannot be described in words to those who have not been. And, words are not necessary to describe it to those who have.

More birthday pictures

Twins Birthday

We had a fun birthday for the twins at Travis and Haley's house. They had such a blast. They love playing with their cousins and of course swimming in Travis' big pool. We had pizza, cake, and ice cream. They had tons of presents. I wrapped Madison's presents in pink paper and Porter's in blue. Lane was more excited to see what was inside the gifts--although he did tear into a few of them.

If Vicki were 80 years old...

...she would have been the woman sitting in the seat next to me. I was traveling from Las Vegas to St. George on a shuttle bus and sat next to the most charming 80 year old I have ever had the pleasure of speaking with. She was small and healthy and very spry. She was quiet and happy and content even though she had her share of trials in this life. There is something sacred and magnificent in the wisdom of our elders. I literally felt in awe as I listened to stories from her life. She was married at 19 to her 24 year old beau. They lived their lives together until he passed away 5 years ago. They moved to St. George 16 years ago to be a drier climate that would help her husband with his health. Though she was the only member in her family and had a strong testimony of eternal families, she was unable to have children. How that has made her heart ache throughout her life. But she has only grown stronger in her belief that she will be a mother when she returns to Heaven. It was so neat to hear her testimony of the lessons she has learned in life. And her sweet testimony of knowing that her husband has been by her side even after his death. She sees him often in the temple and feels his presence in her home.
I think our society has gotten away from the respect that needs to be given to those who have lived for so long and have so much wisdom. I am still amazed that this woman has lived twice my life plus one year! Wow! I hope I am as good as she is at her age.
BTW, she reminded me of Vicki because Vicki can talk to anyone for hours. She strikes up a conversation with perfect strangers at the temple, the airport, or where ever. I, on the other hand, can sit next to someone and be perfectly content not saying a word. I have to say it was kind of fun to learn about someone else's journey in life. Now, I can see why Vicki likes to talk to people so much.

Don't walk a mile in my shoes

I have found it difficult to pray lately. Mostly because both of my knees are scraped and bruised from my recent accident I was in. The right knee and my right hand got it the worst. I actually have cuts and bruises on the inside of my palm. It looks like I spilled dye or something on it. My left ankle/foot hurt so bad I went to the doctor to see if I broke it. Nothing. X-rays cleared me. I was sent home with a brace and crutches and told to keep off of my foot for awhile. I have. Everything is feeling better now. Oh...how did I get hurt? I guess I didn't mention that. I was walking and fell. No there were no steps, no mountains, no inclines, just a plain ordinary street. I know. I'm extremely talented in uncoordinated attempts to maim myself. I have a history...I don't want to repeat the long list of lifetime achievements I have in this area. But, I will say I think it all started when I broke my leg playing duck, duck, goose when I was three.

A river runs around it

I usually try to be so optimistic about life. While going to marriage counseling a year ago, we had to fill out a form each time we before we went into to talk to our counselor. One day, she told me, "Liz, you can not have this high of a score. No one is this happy. Not even me. I think you are overly optimistic." I remember getting in trouble for leaving the keys in the pizza parlor door overnight. Of course someone stole them. My Dad was so upset with me. It was his entire master set of keys. I don't blame him. I went in that morning and tried to clean the store and do the best I could to try to make up for it. I know he was really upset about it. He said to me, "You are just like a river. When something gets in your way, you just go around."
I do try to look at the bright side of life. But sometimes, it seems like I just can't carry all of the optimism anymore and it's too hard. Sometimes I feel so tired, so frustrated, I just don't have any more to give. I think, "I am terrible at being a mother or I am not a good enough wife. Why did I sign up for all of this?" I hate feeling this way. It will probably pass in a couple of days, but in the meantime, it's so overwhelming.

Life without a cell phone

I haven't had a cellphone since Saturday. I often stick my phone in my bra--it's so convenient, what can I say. Forgot to take it out of my swimsuit when I went swimming. Robin already told me I get the "Blond of the week" award. It's so weird. I feel like I am on diet. I keep reaching for something I can't have. I am so anxious to get my new one today. Where is the FedEx guy? How did we live without those things? What WAS life like without it.

Travis and Haley's place

We went to Travis' and Haley's today. The kids played in pool. I'm the only one that got sunburned. I made sure to get sunscreen on them, but forget myself. I also jumped in the pool with my phone--it was tucked in my swimsuit and I had forgotten.

Temple Trip

I had the kids with me in St. George. On Friday, Mom babysat while I went to work. After work, I took the kids to the temple. They loved it. When we walked in the twins saw the big statue of Jesus and said, "It's Jesus!" Lane started clapping. They were very excited. It was such a warm spirit there. I am glad they were able to go. They also get excited when they see the St. George temple or the Manti temple as we are driving by, so they were excited to get to "go" to the temple.

More trip pics