Funny Pictures and a Funny Story

I just thought I'd post some funny pictures of the kids from this week.
We we on our back porch doing chalk and bubbles and I happened to catch Makenna getting really upset. It looks like she's telling Parker off! I think she was actually just mad at having to be in her activity center when she would rather be on the ground eating the chalk.(:

In these two, Makenna had flipped her little toy box over on herself and she thought it was really funny! I love that in the last one you can see her breath on the plastic!



Now for the funny story... First, you need to know that Parker is my little mimic. He says just about everything I say and in the tone I say it in too. This is mostly referring to how I speak to Andrew and Makenna. So, two nights ago Parker was having a horrible night and wouldn't go to sleep. Finally I let him come in bed with us. This usually works, because he likes sleeping in our bed in theory but not in practice. It doesn't take him too long to ask us to take him back to his bed. I guess he likes his personal space. Anyway, so he and I were in the bed and Andrew pulled the sheets off of us to get them straigtened out. That did not make Parker happy so he gave Andrew a nasty look and said in a stern voice, "ANDREW BARRRRRNES!" I just about peed my pants laughing because Parker said EXACTLY (right down to the look) what I say to Andrew when he's bugging me! It was priceless!(:

Trip to the Tyler's

Last weekend we drove out to Walla Walla, WA to see Andrew's grandparents that live there. We also got to see his aunt and uncle that live close by. It was a great visit! I was worried about the drive with the kids (4 hrs) but they actually did really well. Both of the kids just loved spending time with the family. Parker especially liked seeing Aunt Beth's horses. He wasn't scared of them at all, which surprised me. Makenna made her presence known in sacrament meeting with grandma and grandpa. She screamed her super high pitched scream in the middle of the opening announcements and literally left the bishop speachless for a moment. Then the whole congregation burst into laughter. I think Andrew and I went a few shades of red. Here are some pictures of our weekend. We got some of our family with grandma and grandpa but they turned out fuzzy so we will have to get more at our next visit.

Day at the park

It was gorgeous here in Washington yesterday. The first day of nice, warm weather we've had since we got here. I decided to venture out with the kids to a park to enjoy the warm and sun while it lasts. I got some good pictures of Makenna but Parker wouldn't let me get many pictures of him.

My big girl

I gave Makenna some of her first solids yesterday and she loved it! She is officially a fan of gerber puffs and zwieback toast. I snapped a few pictures because she was so cute eating them!

Random thoughts and our summer adventure (random pictures from this week too)

So we embarked on our annual "move somewhere new for the summer" adventure last week. This year it's Seattle again (or thereabouts.) Actually Andrew has been here for 3 weeks now, but the kids and I stayed behind for a week and a half and then flew out. By the way, never doing that again! Flying with 2 babies by yourself is shear craziness! We are living it up ghetto fabulous style here with plastic dinnerware and everything.(: Somewhere along the line in the last 7 years Andrew and I have been doing this, we have made somewhat of an art form out of making due with as little as possible for May, June, July, and August. We actually live just up the street from the hospital that Parker was born in. I LOVE Washington summers! I also LOVE visitors! Anyone who wants a little vacation is more than welcome to stay with us! So far I already have a few takers, but there's always room for more! Andrew is selling up a storm already. I'm so proud of him! He has what has to be one of the hardest jobs in the world and he's amazing at it. Hmmm, that's all I can think of about the move right now, so here are the random thoughts:

Things that Parker has said to me in the last few days:
-"Mom, lets call grandpa and tell him, "Guess what, it's raining!"
-"Mom look that that bird! It's not a golden eagle, though."
-"Mom, Percy is driving to summer!" (Percy is a train and Parker thinks that summer is a destination, not a season. How do you explain that to a 2 yr old?)
-"Mom, Sadie eats so long!" (He says this as he feeds Sadie yet more dog food even though I've told him not to at least 100 times.)

I wish I could put a video camera on this kid all the time because he says the funniest stuff! He NEVER stops talking! Gotta love him!

Makenna is fascinated with Sadie. She goes nuts everytime she's sees her. Parker is too for that matter. Sadie's hair is driving me crazy. I have threatened to shave her many times in that last week. Makenna has started gurgling a lot in the last few days. It's the cutest sound! Kind of sounds like a pigeon. I'm also wondering if she will ever crawl because she rolls EVERYWHERE. Oh, and she's eight months old now!

Well, that's it. I also just want to say thank you to all you sweethearts who commented on my last post. I love you all so much!

Mother's day

Mother's day is not an easy day for me. It's a day that is one part pure joy and one part profound loss. Those feelings meld together and it's hard to figure out where one starts and other begins. The fact that I am a mother at all is something that I can't help but stand in humbled awe of. After nearly three years of struggling with infertility, I am so grateful for my two amazing children. There is no medical reason that I should have been able to get pregnant on my own with Parker, let alone Makenna. They are truly my precious miracles. It is so obvious to me now that they were sent to me by a loving Heavenly Father at the time that they were needed. I also can't look at them without thinking of my mother because each of them have a special connection to her. Anyone who witnessed the bond that Parker had with my mother could never forget it. He meant so much to her. I found out that I was pregnant with him one week after doctors found her cancer in her lymph nodes. She underwent debilitating surgery and chemo that year. We knew that the odds of her surviving even five years were not good, but she refused to accept that. After all, she was going to be a grandma. I loved that time with her. She was so thrilled for me and I think even secretly more thrilled for herself. No more adoring grandma ever exsisted. To her, Parker was the cutest, smartest, sweetest, most perfect little boy that ever there was (he really is, but that's beside the point.)(: She just couldn't get enough of him. I'm so glad that she lived to see him turn one. That it meant so much to me and to her and she beat the odds to do it. I will always treasure the time that I got to watch them be together.
I found out that I was pregnant with Makenna about a month and a half after my mom died. My pregnancy and her birth were so bittersweet. I wanted my mom more than I can explain. It was my first big life event without her. I think the words that I said the most the first few months of Makenna's life were, "I just want my mom!" However, in Makenna, I have gained a new mother-daughter relationship. I know that this has helped to heal me and I know that it will continue to heal me as I get a chance to mother my own daughter. I can have the bond with my daughter that my mom had with me. I have also felt my mother's presence often since her birth. She loves to watch my kids, I can tell you that. Makenna shares my mom's name as her middle name and I hope that she will always honor the legacy that my mom has left for her.
My mom's last mother's day on this earth was also my first. I remember making her promise a million times that she would be here for next mother's day. As if somehow, she had any control over that. I got a card from her that I keep as one of my most valuable possesions. I read it often when I feel lonley for her. She wrote, "Thank you for spending the last 10 days with me!" (Parker and I were visiting from Washington.) "You're a great mom! I love you!" Mostly I read the great mom part. For some reason, no one can make you really believe that you're a great mom, except your own mom. I wish she was still here to tell me that sometimes. This mother's day I would thank my mom for the 25 years she spent with me. She was a great mom. So great. I love her and can't wait to see her again. I know she and Bri are enjoying being together and I'm glad that she gets to spend Mother's day with my sweet little sister. I wish a special happy mother's day to all those women in my life who have been so sweet and kind to me and my family! I can't say thank you enough!
PS-A special message to my sis, Jamie. I love you! Thank you for being so wonderful! You are making mom so proud because of the woman that you are!

My sister-in-law (thanks Meg!) forwarded this to me and I really thought that it was a wonderful read. She mentioned in her email that it was nice to read this is spite of the the anti-American rhetoric that we hear all the time. I completely agree with her! I for one, have always been, and will always be proud to be an American!


Beautiful, sweet, and entirely TRUE! (I checked it out on snopes just to be sure.)

Excerpt from a Romanian Newspaper

We rarely get a chance to see another country's editorial about the USA.

Read this excerpt from a Romanian Newspaper. The article was written by Mr. Cornel Nistorescu and published under the title 'C'ntarea Americii, meaning 'Ode To America') in the Romanian newspaper Evenimentulzilei 'The Daily Event' or 'News of the Day' & nbsp;
~An Ode to America ~
Why are Americans so united? They would not resemble one another even if you painted them all one color! They speak all the languages of the world and form an astonishing mixture of civilizations and religious beliefs.

Still, the American tragedy turned three hundred million people into a hand put on the heart.
Nobody rushed to accuse the White House, the Army, or the Secret Service that they are only a bunch of losers.
Nobody rushed to empty their bank accounts.
Nobody rushed out onto the streets nearby to gape about.
Instead the Americans volunteered to donate blood and to give a helping hand.

After the first moments of panic, they raised their flag over the smoking ruins, putting on T-shirts, caps and ties in the colors of the national flag. They placed flags on buildings and ca rs as if in every place and on every car a government official or the president was passing. On every occasion, they started singing:'God Bless America !'

I watched the live broadcast and rerun after rerun for hours listening to the story of the guy who went down one hundred floors with a woman in a wheelchair without knowing who she was, or of the Californian hockey player, who gave his life fighting with the terrorists and prevented the plane from hitting a target that could have killed other hundreds or thousands of people.


How on earth were they able to respond united as one human being? Imperceptibly, with every word and musical note, the memory of some turned into a modern myth of tragic heroes. And with every phone call, millions and millions of dollars were put into a collection aimed at rewarding not a man or a family, but a spirit, which no money can buy.


What on earth can unite the Americans in such a way?
Their land? Their history? Their economic Power? Money?
I tried for hours to find an answer, humming songs and murmuring phrases with the risk of sounding commonplace, I thought things over, I reached but only one conclusion... Only freedom can work such miracles.

Cornel Nistorescu