I'll write more about my date with my boys tomorrow-- I'm too tired right now. But I will tell you how it ended! As it turns out, I was hit with a bad cold last night and was pretty miserable. I drugged myself up enough to take the boys skiing today, and we had a blast. But at the end of the day I was completely exhausted. I knew that I was coming home at dinnertime, and that there would be a lot of kids wanting my attention, and that I owed it to Jeremy to take over. I was not looking forward to it-- only because I didn't feel well at all. But after I walked in the door and greeted all my cute kids, Jeremy sent me in to take a hot bath. He then came and brought me chicken noodle soup and orange juice and told me he was taking care of dinner for the kids.
I have a really, really good man for a husband.
Really.
Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Problem semi-solved.
It's amazing how one little phone call from the guy you love, asking if you'd like to meet for dinner instead of cooking, can make the world seem so much brighter.
Our first "date" in several weeks. (:
Now to get out of these pj's I've been in all day...
--Christianne
Our first "date" in several weeks. (:
Now to get out of these pj's I've been in all day...
--Christianne
Monday, July 19, 2010
Priorities
Today I cam home and the kitchen was a mess. Dirty dishes in the sink. Nowhere to cook the fish I was going to prepare. My wife? She was downstairs playing make believe with married couple Rosalina and Max (Jesi and Xander-she was a doctor, he was a nurse and Christi was a patient who Rosalina and Max had adopted after treating her ailments:). She had been playing with them for close to two hours! Man, I am a lucky guy to have a wife who has her priorities straight!!!
I know I may be getting sickening with this, but...have I mentioned lately how much I love my life:)
Jer
I know I may be getting sickening with this, but...have I mentioned lately how much I love my life:)
Jer
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Happy Love Day!!
Jeremy and I had a nice date planned last night, but it fell through when we both were battling headaches. I was feeling a little sorry for myself, but then we were awakened this morning bright and early with breakfast in bed and a Happy Valentine’s Day song. We weren’t expecting it, and I was just so overcome with love for our wonderful kids. Throughout the day we continued to see little acts of kindness from them. Parker let me stay in bed while he got Elli up, fed her, and put her in the bath. He also made Xander a fried egg sandwich (Parker’s specialty). Pretty good for a nine-year-old! Taylor worked for over two hours on the cutest treasure hunt for the other kids. The treasure—pictures and love notes for them. (: One example:
Xander shared his candy with everyone in the family. He also was so good to be quiet this afternoon and let us have a nap. Elli always makes us smile with her little songs—you cannot listen to her sing and not feel the pure love of Christ she exudes. Jessica showed us a powerful example of love tonight. We were playing a board game and she was sitting on Jeremy’s lap. His leg got sore, and he told her she needed to get off. For some reason, it broke her little heart, and she walked off sobbing. A couple of minutes later, she came back into the kitchen with red puffy eyes carrying drinks for Jeremy and me. This sparked a great conversation about how to act when someone hurts our feelings. We decided as a family that for one week, every time someone does something to us that makes us sad or upset we are going to turn around and serve them. Good job, Jesi!
And finally, Graci and her Achievement Days girls sang “Where Love Is” in Sacrament meeting today. It was the best Valentine. She looked so so beautiful and smiled during the whole song. She was just glowing. There was a line in the song, “the happiness we feel when love has found us” that brought tears to my eyes. I thought of how far she has come in the last couple of years. She has evolved into such a beautiful young woman. She is responsible and thoughtful and caring. Most importantly, I feel that she has finally found her place in our family—she is secure in our love and happy in our home. We love her beyond words. She has blessed us in so many ways.
With that, I am so burdened to share that her health is not as good as we want it to be. It seems that Graci has recently developed pulmonary hypertension. In simple terms, the arteries in her lungs have narrowed and hardened, making her heart work too hard to get blood to her lungs. The past couple of weeks have brought an EKG, ECHO, and a cardiac MRI. This Friday, she will undergo surgery in the cath lab. They will be trying some different medications and seeing how her heart responds to them. The results of the surgery will be pivotal in knowing what exactly we are facing here. Even though I have tried to not worry until we know more, I can’t help but feel the wind has been knocked out of me and I am left gasping for air. We were not expecting this. We also found out this week that she has cervical stenosis and will need to be seen by the top neurosurgeon at Primary Children’s.
We need this little girl with us, so please, know that we would love your prayers. One of my friends offered to fast for her on Friday. I loved that idea, and would invite any of you who feel so inclined to join our fast. It would obviously mean the world to us, as she means the world to us.
With the storm always comes a rainbow, and we are so happy to share with you some very very exciting news! It deserves a post of it’s own—and I’m going to work on it right now so Teri will still like me!! Check back soon!
Happy Valentines Day!
--Christianne
Xander shared his candy with everyone in the family. He also was so good to be quiet this afternoon and let us have a nap. Elli always makes us smile with her little songs—you cannot listen to her sing and not feel the pure love of Christ she exudes. Jessica showed us a powerful example of love tonight. We were playing a board game and she was sitting on Jeremy’s lap. His leg got sore, and he told her she needed to get off. For some reason, it broke her little heart, and she walked off sobbing. A couple of minutes later, she came back into the kitchen with red puffy eyes carrying drinks for Jeremy and me. This sparked a great conversation about how to act when someone hurts our feelings. We decided as a family that for one week, every time someone does something to us that makes us sad or upset we are going to turn around and serve them. Good job, Jesi!
And finally, Graci and her Achievement Days girls sang “Where Love Is” in Sacrament meeting today. It was the best Valentine. She looked so so beautiful and smiled during the whole song. She was just glowing. There was a line in the song, “the happiness we feel when love has found us” that brought tears to my eyes. I thought of how far she has come in the last couple of years. She has evolved into such a beautiful young woman. She is responsible and thoughtful and caring. Most importantly, I feel that she has finally found her place in our family—she is secure in our love and happy in our home. We love her beyond words. She has blessed us in so many ways.
With that, I am so burdened to share that her health is not as good as we want it to be. It seems that Graci has recently developed pulmonary hypertension. In simple terms, the arteries in her lungs have narrowed and hardened, making her heart work too hard to get blood to her lungs. The past couple of weeks have brought an EKG, ECHO, and a cardiac MRI. This Friday, she will undergo surgery in the cath lab. They will be trying some different medications and seeing how her heart responds to them. The results of the surgery will be pivotal in knowing what exactly we are facing here. Even though I have tried to not worry until we know more, I can’t help but feel the wind has been knocked out of me and I am left gasping for air. We were not expecting this. We also found out this week that she has cervical stenosis and will need to be seen by the top neurosurgeon at Primary Children’s.
We need this little girl with us, so please, know that we would love your prayers. One of my friends offered to fast for her on Friday. I loved that idea, and would invite any of you who feel so inclined to join our fast. It would obviously mean the world to us, as she means the world to us.
With the storm always comes a rainbow, and we are so happy to share with you some very very exciting news! It deserves a post of it’s own—and I’m going to work on it right now so Teri will still like me!! Check back soon!
Happy Valentines Day!
--Christianne
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Happy Anniversary
August 11, 2009 11:00 PM China time
About 6:00 tonight, Christi looked over at me and said, “Hey. It’s our anniversary!” So this was our most memorable, but least remembered, celebration of the greatest day of our lives. (Or at least my life. Sometimes I think Christi got gypped. But I do know she loves me tons:) Just prior to that realization, we had returned home from a full day. Notarization and registration of documents took several hours. Then we went with the kids to a Lotus Shopping Center (bigger than WalMart!) We made the mistake of going through the toy section. Anyway, while at the shopping center, I snuck a Dove chocolate bar into our cart without anyone knowing. When we got home, I pulled Christi into the bathroom and locked the door. We both took a deep breath and treated ourselves to a few minutes of peace and a few bites of chocolate. Christi was seated on the edge of the tub. I was on the toilet. You know you’re getting old when that’s as romantic as it gets on your anniversary:)
So now the kids are in bed and Christi and I are just about to settle down and watch an episode of Star Trek: The Original Series on the computer. (Christi had never seen a full episode of any Star Trek prior to three months ago! I introduced her, and now she’s a little Trekkie:) We’ll post more tomorrow, but know that we are still so in love with X-man (as I like to call him). Oh, we got him a pair of sandals today that seem to be MUCH better for him. Shoes are going to be interesting…
Jeremy
About 6:00 tonight, Christi looked over at me and said, “Hey. It’s our anniversary!” So this was our most memorable, but least remembered, celebration of the greatest day of our lives. (Or at least my life. Sometimes I think Christi got gypped. But I do know she loves me tons:) Just prior to that realization, we had returned home from a full day. Notarization and registration of documents took several hours. Then we went with the kids to a Lotus Shopping Center (bigger than WalMart!) We made the mistake of going through the toy section. Anyway, while at the shopping center, I snuck a Dove chocolate bar into our cart without anyone knowing. When we got home, I pulled Christi into the bathroom and locked the door. We both took a deep breath and treated ourselves to a few minutes of peace and a few bites of chocolate. Christi was seated on the edge of the tub. I was on the toilet. You know you’re getting old when that’s as romantic as it gets on your anniversary:)
So now the kids are in bed and Christi and I are just about to settle down and watch an episode of Star Trek: The Original Series on the computer. (Christi had never seen a full episode of any Star Trek prior to three months ago! I introduced her, and now she’s a little Trekkie:) We’ll post more tomorrow, but know that we are still so in love with X-man (as I like to call him). Oh, we got him a pair of sandals today that seem to be MUCH better for him. Shoes are going to be interesting…
Jeremy
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Mother's Day
We had a good Mother's Day:) Christi got breakfast in bed-eggs, bacon, lemon poppy seed muffins, and orange juice. She got the usual conglomeration of homemade kid presents. I won some points with my gift this year. About six years ago, Christi vacuumed up her wedding ring. We were able to get it out of the vacuum bag, but it had been severely disfigured. Since then, Christi has purchased a $7.00 crummy junk ring at Walmart about every 2 months. These rings turned green or brown or some other ugly color long before she would replace them. (Side note: One time Christi was talking to a friend while wearing one of her discolored Walmart rings. The friend glanced at Christi's hand and commented-Wow! A two-tone wedding ring! How cool! We laughed at the prestige to be found with this dime-store special:) Anyway, for Mother's Day I secretly took her original wedding ring to a jeweler and had it fixed. She is still smiling to have a real ring on her finger. I copped out with a Stouffer's lasagna for dinner, but it was delicious. I did make one of Christi's favorite desserts: Thai sticky rice with Mangos. The sticky rice is sweetened with coconut milk. It's delicious! So Mother's Day was good.
On Mother's Day morning, the ring got us into some conversations with the kids about our dating life. They were fascinated! It was so cute. They were particularly drawn to three stories:
1. Our first kiss. Christi and I hadn't technically been on a date yet. We were both counselors for a youth camp at Brigham Young University called Especially for Youth. (It is an AWESOME program, if you ever get a chance to send your teenage kids!) As a counselor you have virtually no free time during the week. It's a blast and you get to meet a lot of other college kids who are also counselors, but you have no unstructured time to just hang out. Saturday night is the only night you can do your own thing. So one Saturday night, a bunch of us decided to go to a country dance. Christi and I had flirted some, but nothing serious. (Besides, she had just volunteered to serve a year-and-a-half long mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, so I didn't figure there was much use in my pursuing anything with her.) Whenever we discuss this particular dance, Christi reminds me that I didn't ask her to slow dance even once. We danced a few fast dances, but nothing slow. I did, however, ask Christi's close friend to slow dance a couple of times. Oops! Another friend drove us back to BYU campus, where all of the counselors were staying in the dorms. During the ride, Christi and I got talking some more and I started becoming more and more interested in this attractive, fun girl. So when we got back on campus, I chivalrously offered to walk her back to her dorm. Before she went inside, we sat outside and talked. And talked. And talked. And I realized what a gem Christianne truly was and is. So at one point I said to her: "I'll bet you a quarter I can kiss you without touching your lips." Christi, thinking "How cute, he's going to kiss me on the cheek," said "OK." I told her to close her eyes. She complied, and I planted a kiss right on her lips. I said "I lose. Here's your quarter.:)" She was pretty surprised, but let's just say she earned a few bucks that night.:) The boys couldn't wipe the smiles off their faces as they heard this story, and are determined to use that line at some point in their future.
2. Christi's decision to marry me (vs. her high-school sweetheart). Christi had dated a really great guy all through high school and had fallen in love with him. The two of them (and most of their small town) were sure that they would get married after he returned from serving his two-year mission. I met Christi the last week of June, 1997. Her high school sweetheart was coming home from his mission in September of 1997. Even with limited math skills, I was able to see that I basically had 2 months to make this girl fall in love with me and forget him. Man, I did everything I could to win her over. I gave her so many flowers (including one week where she received some every day). I called her. I sang to her. I played guitar for her. But in spite of my best efforts and her growing feelings for me, she made it very clear that I was NOT to propose to her until after her missionary returned. YEAH, RIGHT!!! Here's the girl of my dreams, ("She's almost perfect" my future mother-in-law informed me the first time I was introduced to Christi's family-and she is!) and she expects me to sit around and wait for this other guy to come back and remind her of why she loved him??? NO WAY! I proposed to Christi the night before her missionary returned from Italy. (I planned a GREAT proposal date, if I do say myself, but that's a story for another entry.) Anyway, toward the end of a perfect evening, I got down on one knee, and, with my hand shaking visibly, held out the ring and asked, "Sweetheart, will you marry me?" Her response? "Did you ask my dad?" ??? Did you ask my dad??? Fortunately, I was able to answer, "Yes." (Yet another story. Yes, I had asked her dad. I had driven the 2 hours to Ferron, UT. Her family already knew that I had chronic problems with punctuality. I had called Dean ahead of time and asked if I could come and talk to him. I'm sure he knew what was coming. He agreed to meet me at the end of his work day outside the school where he teaches. So, as usual, I had timed things to the last second. I would have been on time if there had been no complications. I really would have! To get to Christi's home town, you have to drive through a 60-mile long canyon which for the most part is one lane in each direction. This is the truth: A semi-truck had crashed in the canyon, spilling huge amounts of re-bar all over the highway. Traffic was stopped for a long time. I was terribly late to an appointment to ask for his daughter's hand in marriage. Not only that, but there was no way to call and let him know. There was also nothing for him to do but wait for me. We had agreed to meet outside the school. So when I finally showed up at least an hour late, poor Dean was still sitting sitting on the curb in the hot summer sun, waiting for me. It's a wonder he didn't just scowl and say "Get out of here and leave my daughter alone!" Instead, he completely cemented himself in the position of the world's most wonderful father-in-law (no offense Dad, you're awesome too.:). We went into the school, sat down at a couple of students' desks, and talked for a little while. Small talk at first, then, the question. "Dean, I would like to ask for your permission to ask your daughter to marry me." "Got it!" he instantly replied. No questions about how I was going to support his daughter. No lectures about how I had better treat her perfectly. He knew me well enough by then to know he would say yes. And instead of making me sweat it out, he made me feel like he was lucky to have me for a son-in-law. (And believe me, I'm sure he had MANY concerns and questions about my capabilities. I really can't express in words how grateful I am for Dean and LaRita. They have been amazing to me. I hope I can be the same for my kids-in-law.) So I answered Christi: "Yes, I asked your dad." She put the ring on that night, but never did say yes. She also told me she was going to the airport with her missionary's family the next day to pick him up. She took the ring off to do that. This was, of course, very fair, given that I had proposed when she had prohibited me from doing so. She spent a rough next couple of days deciding what she was going to do. Then she told a very disheartened young man that she had decided to marry me. After relating this story, our kids were fascinated by the concept that it had been such a hard choice at the time. They kept asking things like "Are you glad you married dad?" "Did you make the right choice?" "Did your missionary marry someone else?" She answered yes to all of them. What a lucky guy I am!!!
3. Christi got asked out on a date after we were married with four kids. She was at Walmart in Tennessee with just Jessica. With still years to go before I would fix her wedding ring, her hand was bare. She noticed that a particular guy always seemed to be near, no matter what part of the store she was in. At one point, Christi asked a Walmart employee where she could find a particular tool that I had asked her to purchase. The employee wasn't sure where or what the tool was. Enter the date-asker. The guy who was always near approached Christi and helped her find what she needed. Then he somewhat awkwardly said: "You may have noticed me nearby today. I've been trying to get up the guts to ask you something. I know it's a bit strange since you don't know me, but I was wondering if you would like to have dinner sometime." Christi was very flattered! She answered "Oh, that's so sweet of you, but I'm married with three more kids at home!" The guy was embarrassed, but it wasn't too bad. When we told the kids this story, they, the boys in particular, were so worried about this guy. They kept asking, "Do you think he found someone to marry?" "Do you think he's married now?" Do you think he's happy?" They asked these questions over and over during the course of the day. Their empathy and concern was so cute:)
Well, this entry turned out much longer than I had anticipated. But the bottom line? I'm married to the most wonderful girl and the best mother in the world and we have the most wonderful kids in the world. (Isn't it great that for me they absolutely are the best, and yet for you, your family is the best? God is good!)
Jeremy
On Mother's Day morning, the ring got us into some conversations with the kids about our dating life. They were fascinated! It was so cute. They were particularly drawn to three stories:
1. Our first kiss. Christi and I hadn't technically been on a date yet. We were both counselors for a youth camp at Brigham Young University called Especially for Youth. (It is an AWESOME program, if you ever get a chance to send your teenage kids!) As a counselor you have virtually no free time during the week. It's a blast and you get to meet a lot of other college kids who are also counselors, but you have no unstructured time to just hang out. Saturday night is the only night you can do your own thing. So one Saturday night, a bunch of us decided to go to a country dance. Christi and I had flirted some, but nothing serious. (Besides, she had just volunteered to serve a year-and-a-half long mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, so I didn't figure there was much use in my pursuing anything with her.) Whenever we discuss this particular dance, Christi reminds me that I didn't ask her to slow dance even once. We danced a few fast dances, but nothing slow. I did, however, ask Christi's close friend to slow dance a couple of times. Oops! Another friend drove us back to BYU campus, where all of the counselors were staying in the dorms. During the ride, Christi and I got talking some more and I started becoming more and more interested in this attractive, fun girl. So when we got back on campus, I chivalrously offered to walk her back to her dorm. Before she went inside, we sat outside and talked. And talked. And talked. And I realized what a gem Christianne truly was and is. So at one point I said to her: "I'll bet you a quarter I can kiss you without touching your lips." Christi, thinking "How cute, he's going to kiss me on the cheek," said "OK." I told her to close her eyes. She complied, and I planted a kiss right on her lips. I said "I lose. Here's your quarter.:)" She was pretty surprised, but let's just say she earned a few bucks that night.:) The boys couldn't wipe the smiles off their faces as they heard this story, and are determined to use that line at some point in their future.
2. Christi's decision to marry me (vs. her high-school sweetheart). Christi had dated a really great guy all through high school and had fallen in love with him. The two of them (and most of their small town) were sure that they would get married after he returned from serving his two-year mission. I met Christi the last week of June, 1997. Her high school sweetheart was coming home from his mission in September of 1997. Even with limited math skills, I was able to see that I basically had 2 months to make this girl fall in love with me and forget him. Man, I did everything I could to win her over. I gave her so many flowers (including one week where she received some every day). I called her. I sang to her. I played guitar for her. But in spite of my best efforts and her growing feelings for me, she made it very clear that I was NOT to propose to her until after her missionary returned. YEAH, RIGHT!!! Here's the girl of my dreams, ("She's almost perfect" my future mother-in-law informed me the first time I was introduced to Christi's family-and she is!) and she expects me to sit around and wait for this other guy to come back and remind her of why she loved him??? NO WAY! I proposed to Christi the night before her missionary returned from Italy. (I planned a GREAT proposal date, if I do say myself, but that's a story for another entry.) Anyway, toward the end of a perfect evening, I got down on one knee, and, with my hand shaking visibly, held out the ring and asked, "Sweetheart, will you marry me?" Her response? "Did you ask my dad?" ??? Did you ask my dad??? Fortunately, I was able to answer, "Yes." (Yet another story. Yes, I had asked her dad. I had driven the 2 hours to Ferron, UT. Her family already knew that I had chronic problems with punctuality. I had called Dean ahead of time and asked if I could come and talk to him. I'm sure he knew what was coming. He agreed to meet me at the end of his work day outside the school where he teaches. So, as usual, I had timed things to the last second. I would have been on time if there had been no complications. I really would have! To get to Christi's home town, you have to drive through a 60-mile long canyon which for the most part is one lane in each direction. This is the truth: A semi-truck had crashed in the canyon, spilling huge amounts of re-bar all over the highway. Traffic was stopped for a long time. I was terribly late to an appointment to ask for his daughter's hand in marriage. Not only that, but there was no way to call and let him know. There was also nothing for him to do but wait for me. We had agreed to meet outside the school. So when I finally showed up at least an hour late, poor Dean was still sitting sitting on the curb in the hot summer sun, waiting for me. It's a wonder he didn't just scowl and say "Get out of here and leave my daughter alone!" Instead, he completely cemented himself in the position of the world's most wonderful father-in-law (no offense Dad, you're awesome too.:). We went into the school, sat down at a couple of students' desks, and talked for a little while. Small talk at first, then, the question. "Dean, I would like to ask for your permission to ask your daughter to marry me." "Got it!" he instantly replied. No questions about how I was going to support his daughter. No lectures about how I had better treat her perfectly. He knew me well enough by then to know he would say yes. And instead of making me sweat it out, he made me feel like he was lucky to have me for a son-in-law. (And believe me, I'm sure he had MANY concerns and questions about my capabilities. I really can't express in words how grateful I am for Dean and LaRita. They have been amazing to me. I hope I can be the same for my kids-in-law.) So I answered Christi: "Yes, I asked your dad." She put the ring on that night, but never did say yes. She also told me she was going to the airport with her missionary's family the next day to pick him up. She took the ring off to do that. This was, of course, very fair, given that I had proposed when she had prohibited me from doing so. She spent a rough next couple of days deciding what she was going to do. Then she told a very disheartened young man that she had decided to marry me. After relating this story, our kids were fascinated by the concept that it had been such a hard choice at the time. They kept asking things like "Are you glad you married dad?" "Did you make the right choice?" "Did your missionary marry someone else?" She answered yes to all of them. What a lucky guy I am!!!
3. Christi got asked out on a date after we were married with four kids. She was at Walmart in Tennessee with just Jessica. With still years to go before I would fix her wedding ring, her hand was bare. She noticed that a particular guy always seemed to be near, no matter what part of the store she was in. At one point, Christi asked a Walmart employee where she could find a particular tool that I had asked her to purchase. The employee wasn't sure where or what the tool was. Enter the date-asker. The guy who was always near approached Christi and helped her find what she needed. Then he somewhat awkwardly said: "You may have noticed me nearby today. I've been trying to get up the guts to ask you something. I know it's a bit strange since you don't know me, but I was wondering if you would like to have dinner sometime." Christi was very flattered! She answered "Oh, that's so sweet of you, but I'm married with three more kids at home!" The guy was embarrassed, but it wasn't too bad. When we told the kids this story, they, the boys in particular, were so worried about this guy. They kept asking, "Do you think he found someone to marry?" "Do you think he's married now?" Do you think he's happy?" They asked these questions over and over during the course of the day. Their empathy and concern was so cute:)
Well, this entry turned out much longer than I had anticipated. But the bottom line? I'm married to the most wonderful girl and the best mother in the world and we have the most wonderful kids in the world. (Isn't it great that for me they absolutely are the best, and yet for you, your family is the best? God is good!)
Jeremy
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Alta! (:
I have a FABULOUS excuse for not blogging yesterday! My wonderful husband surprised me with an overnight date last night!! He arranged for my sister-in-law, Megan, (THANK-YOU, Megan) to watch the kids, and then took me to a nice dinner, hotel, and today-- SKIING!! We haven't been for probably 6-7 years, and it was SO MUCH FUN! We looked EXACTLY like the guy in this picture...
Well, ok-- maybe not that cool. But Jeremy did have me skiing pretty fast (at least for me) by the end of the day. We stayed on blue diamonds (intermediate skiing) and just had the most absolutely perfect time together. There wasn't a cloud in the sky-- it was breathtaking. I am in awe of the beauty of our Utah mountains. The picture above was taken at Alta, where we were skiing. We are so blessed to live in such a magnificent place.
I will admit that my legs are currently the consistency of jello. I doubt I'll be able to get out of bed tomorrow, but hey-- it was worth it. Thank-you, Jer! Thank-you, Megan and Matthew!!!!
Well, ok-- maybe not that cool. But Jeremy did have me skiing pretty fast (at least for me) by the end of the day. We stayed on blue diamonds (intermediate skiing) and just had the most absolutely perfect time together. There wasn't a cloud in the sky-- it was breathtaking. I am in awe of the beauty of our Utah mountains. The picture above was taken at Alta, where we were skiing. We are so blessed to live in such a magnificent place.
I will admit that my legs are currently the consistency of jello. I doubt I'll be able to get out of bed tomorrow, but hey-- it was worth it. Thank-you, Jer! Thank-you, Megan and Matthew!!!!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Birthdays, Humor, Awards and Great Kids
Saturday was Parker's Birthday. As is the tradition, Christi served him breakfast in bed. Of course he loved that:) We threw quite the party for him. Most of you who read this blog are not steeped in the tradition of the Utah-BYU rivalry. It's not quite Michigan-Ohio State, but it has to be one of the longer-standing rivalries in the country, and people around here are quite passionate about their favorite team. For the birthday party we had a "football party" and kids were supposed to come dressed in the colors of the team they cheer for. (For those of my family who are "football challenged," the music playing is the theme song for Monday Night Football.) We had about 25 kids show up and it was split about 60-40 in favor of BYU. Although our family is a die-hard BYU stronghold, we decorated in both red and blue to make everyone happy. We had the kids play several games, and the winner of each would score either a touchdown or a field goal for their college. At the end of the party, BYU won by a field goal in overtime. This of course is a foreshadowing of how the game this coming weekend will end up! Anyway, the kids loved it. This was the first time we've ever purchased a birthday cake, but, as you can see in the pictures, it was worth it!
After the party, Christi and I went on a much needed date. We took in the movie "Fireproof." WOW, what a great show. I think every married or engaged couple should watch this movie. Completely clean (although the themes were too mature for kids), it was a wonderfully uplifting experience. It is a Christian movie, made by the same people who made "Facing the Giants" (another must-watch). Anyway, we really enjoyed being out by ourselves. After the movie, we went to Sonic to share a dessert. We ordered a strawberry-banana smoothie, but it wasn't very good. Well, I thought it wasn't very good. Christi had a hard time expressing just how disgusting she thought it was. Mostly, it was the texture. It felt like they had added some kind of powder to it and it hadn't been blended in. Anyway, Christi practically gagged when she took a sip. We ordered a carmel banana shake and headed off for home. We were sharing the shake, and would pass it back an forth to each other. It was quite delicious and very thick, so we had to suck on the straw extremely hard just to get a little bit out. In between one of my turns with the shake, I had the great idea to pull a switcheroo. The strawberry-banana fiasco was still in the cup holder right by my hand. So the next time I got the carmel shake, I handed back the strawberry smoothie instead. Christi, thinking she would have to inhale strongly to get anything at all, instead got a huge mouthful of the strawberry stuff which she couldn't stand. Needless to say, she complimented me on my charming sense of humor (or something like that!:)
Thanks to Dave and Marie Ausdenmore (visit them at ausfamily.blogspot.com) for nominating us for an "I love your blog" award. We met Marie and "Aus" (as Dave prefers to be called) on our trip to China to get Graci. They were also adopting a beautiful little girl and we got to know them pretty well. By the time we met them, Christi had already returned home, so it was just Graci, Taylor, Parker and me! Aus and family were a HUGE help to me, taking the kids off of my hands several times over the week we were together and just being good friends. I might not have survived without them! Apparently, one of the requirements when you receive this award is to nominate four more blogs for the award, so here are four blogs (in no particular order) we think are just great. (There are tons of others which would be equally deserving, but these are just a few we have particularly loved.)
1. Michael and Heather Matheny at: heathermathenyfamily.blogspot.com This great family is one of the many that we came to love in Tennessee. They have been in our thoughts and prayers lately as they just returned from China on a trip to adopt little Max.
2. The Martine family at: martinemadness.blogspot.com We followed their journey to Maliah while were in the process of adopting Elli. We share their passion for adoption and their love of our great nation and our Creator.
3. The Smith family at: audreycaroline.blogspot.com We share with them a love of Tennessee and the pain of losing a baby. We love Angie's humorous and uplifting slices of life.
4. The Stewart family at: stewartfam-shelly.blogspot.com They, too, share our passion for adoption. Plus they have the coolest Star Wars Halloween costumes I've ever seen!
One final note. I just can't express how grateful I am for the amazing children the Lord has blessed us with. Not a day goes by that somebody doesn't comment on how wonderful Taylor is, or how reverent Parker is in church, or how Graci is the favorite kid in her class at school, or how charmed someone is by Jesi, or how touched someone is by the special spirit that Elli carries with her. A couple of nights ago I re-watched the video I made of our journey to Graci and her return journey home. I was overcome with a small understanding of the love her Savior has for her, and an increased appreciation of what she has gone through in her life. She is a special little girl. I am excited to see what the future has in store for her! (The two youtube videos below are the first and second half of the videos we made for Graci. Each half is about 10 minutes. If you want to watch them, be sure to first scroll down to the bottom of the blog and pause the blog background music so you can hear Graci's video.)
Jeremy
After the party, Christi and I went on a much needed date. We took in the movie "Fireproof." WOW, what a great show. I think every married or engaged couple should watch this movie. Completely clean (although the themes were too mature for kids), it was a wonderfully uplifting experience. It is a Christian movie, made by the same people who made "Facing the Giants" (another must-watch). Anyway, we really enjoyed being out by ourselves. After the movie, we went to Sonic to share a dessert. We ordered a strawberry-banana smoothie, but it wasn't very good. Well, I thought it wasn't very good. Christi had a hard time expressing just how disgusting she thought it was. Mostly, it was the texture. It felt like they had added some kind of powder to it and it hadn't been blended in. Anyway, Christi practically gagged when she took a sip. We ordered a carmel banana shake and headed off for home. We were sharing the shake, and would pass it back an forth to each other. It was quite delicious and very thick, so we had to suck on the straw extremely hard just to get a little bit out. In between one of my turns with the shake, I had the great idea to pull a switcheroo. The strawberry-banana fiasco was still in the cup holder right by my hand. So the next time I got the carmel shake, I handed back the strawberry smoothie instead. Christi, thinking she would have to inhale strongly to get anything at all, instead got a huge mouthful of the strawberry stuff which she couldn't stand. Needless to say, she complimented me on my charming sense of humor (or something like that!:)
Thanks to Dave and Marie Ausdenmore (visit them at ausfamily.blogspot.com) for nominating us for an "I love your blog" award. We met Marie and "Aus" (as Dave prefers to be called) on our trip to China to get Graci. They were also adopting a beautiful little girl and we got to know them pretty well. By the time we met them, Christi had already returned home, so it was just Graci, Taylor, Parker and me! Aus and family were a HUGE help to me, taking the kids off of my hands several times over the week we were together and just being good friends. I might not have survived without them! Apparently, one of the requirements when you receive this award is to nominate four more blogs for the award, so here are four blogs (in no particular order) we think are just great. (There are tons of others which would be equally deserving, but these are just a few we have particularly loved.)
1. Michael and Heather Matheny at: heathermathenyfamily.blogspot.com This great family is one of the many that we came to love in Tennessee. They have been in our thoughts and prayers lately as they just returned from China on a trip to adopt little Max.
2. The Martine family at: martinemadness.blogspot.com We followed their journey to Maliah while were in the process of adopting Elli. We share their passion for adoption and their love of our great nation and our Creator.
3. The Smith family at: audreycaroline.blogspot.com We share with them a love of Tennessee and the pain of losing a baby. We love Angie's humorous and uplifting slices of life.
4. The Stewart family at: stewartfam-shelly.blogspot.com They, too, share our passion for adoption. Plus they have the coolest Star Wars Halloween costumes I've ever seen!
One final note. I just can't express how grateful I am for the amazing children the Lord has blessed us with. Not a day goes by that somebody doesn't comment on how wonderful Taylor is, or how reverent Parker is in church, or how Graci is the favorite kid in her class at school, or how charmed someone is by Jesi, or how touched someone is by the special spirit that Elli carries with her. A couple of nights ago I re-watched the video I made of our journey to Graci and her return journey home. I was overcome with a small understanding of the love her Savior has for her, and an increased appreciation of what she has gone through in her life. She is a special little girl. I am excited to see what the future has in store for her! (The two youtube videos below are the first and second half of the videos we made for Graci. Each half is about 10 minutes. If you want to watch them, be sure to first scroll down to the bottom of the blog and pause the blog background music so you can hear Graci's video.)
Jeremy
Friday, August 22, 2008
Late night ramblings...
A couple of weeks ago, Graci went in for a heart cath to see how everything was coming along. The doctors were very pleased with what they saw and decided she is ready for her second open heart surgery. The scheduling department finally contacted us yesterday and gave us the big date-- September 18. We are of course nervous, but excited to get it done. If all goes as hoped for with this surgery, Graci will be home free for eight years, at which point they will have to replace her valves. So, as you can imagine, it will be a huge weight off of our shoulders to get through this next surgery!!! We are of course grateful for any prayers in her behalf. She is very scared and keeps asking me questions about it. I can't really play it down at all, because she's been through it before and knows how awful it is. She is especially dreading having the ventilator in her throat and not being able to drink. That was miserable for her last time-- and for us (I think I cried about it as much as she did). UGH.
This week has been crazy. All of the kids have had their school assessments (they will be in three different schools), Elli had her preschool open house, we've had two Lagoon trips, we've had a family dinner/outing with Jeremy's workforce, I've gone to Education Week at BYU (I went to classes all day on Monday)... the list goes on. Even as I am typing this, Jeremy is on a plane to San Diego. Yesterday, his best friend (former mission companion and roommate) called him with the news that he was getting married on Saturday. As in, two days from the time he was calling. He and his girlfriend have been dating off and on for 7 years and had decided to get married a few months ago, but were having a hard time with scheduling it. Apparently, they decided this week that Saturday was the day!! It seems a little anti-climatic after dating such a long time-- you would think that by now a huge, lavish wedding would have been planned. But who am I to talk???? As most of you know, Jer and I called off our "first wedding" just hours before the ceremony was to take place. So we know something about the ups and downs and perils of engagement. (: Oh how happy I am to be out of that phase of my life!!!! It feels so amazing to be secure in that decision and to know that whatever else happens, I will be spending the rest of my life with Jeremy. He really is my match made in heaven.
I don't know if I have posted about this before, but Jeremy began the most wonderful tradition for our family when the boys were just toddlers-- "Daddy Dates." One day of the week, he takes one of the kids on an individual date. It could be something fancy, or just a trip to the park. This year, he decided to share the joys of these dates with me by letting me have "Mommy Dates" as well. I cannot tell you what a wonderful thing this has been for our family. Every fifth week, each of the kids get to go on a date with Mommy or Daddy, and they look forward to it with great anticipation. Well, Jeremy just got through his last rounds of daddy dates and it was my turn. We bought Lagoon season passports this year, and so of course all of the kids wanted to do that for their dates. This was the last week that Lagoon would be open for the summer, so I went on two dates-- Tuesday with Taylor and yesterday with Parker. To be truthful, I wasn't as excited as I should have been. We've already been to Lagoon as a family, I've been with Jeremy, and he has taken each of the kids there individually on their daddy dates (during which I was in charge of the remaining four kids). I felt "Lagooned out." But I had sooooo much fun with my boys this week!!! The weather was perfect, and the lines were short. We had a blast. The best part, however, was the ride to and from Lagoon-- where we had some great conversations. It is so much fun to get into their sweet little heads. I would repeat all of the cute things they said, but I guess they probably wouldn't want me to. I will tell you of one short conversation with Parker.
Mom: "So are the kids at your school mostly nice kids? Do you hear a lot of bad things at school?"
Parker: "Well, there are a few kids that say those two really bad words."
Mom: "Oh yeah? What words?"
Parker (as serious as can be): "Shut up."
Oh that those could be the worst words he ever hears at school!!!! I love how innocent my kids are. I wish I could protect their sweet little minds and hearts forever.
Well the hour is late, and the kids get up early! What I would give for an extra few hours of nighttime!
--Christianne
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