Happy Birthday, Janna!

This one below... what is up with my child?

We ate tacos, then cake. Everyone got really high on sugar and started popping balloons by sitting on them.

Janna baked her own cake. Red velvet. It was delicious!

Happy Birthday, Janna. Whenever I think of us being little, the first thing I think is how you would always say "I'm sorry" first. We would fight and get sent to our rooms. A little while later a note would be slipped underneath my door. It would always say something like, "I'm sorry. Let's play when Mom lets us out, okay?" WITHOUT FAIL, it was YOU who apologized FIRST. Thanks for that example. I've always remembered it. I love you so much! I love living by you and letting our big, real-life dolls play together.

Need some comic relief in your day? Watch this. It's worth sitting through the ad.

Belly Laugh

I only have three weeks until this baby boy is due so I've been busy tying up all the loose ends. You know... purchasing nursing pads, diapers, panties the size of bed sheets, and pads so indeed "Jumbo", Sea World stocks the identical ones for the afterbirths of their aquatic mammals.

I had to order a bra from Motherhood online because they were out of the one I wanted at the mall. (The Hall) I dread going inside that Motherhood store in the mall. The 'service' is oversolicitous, to say the least. They want your phone number, due date, etc., stopping just shy of a cervical exam. Everything fitting okay in there? Would you like me to strip your membranes?

They watch until you get as far as Pretzel Time and then sell your data to every advertiser in the country. Then come the never-ending samples in the mail. Slews of them.

My bras arrived today. They didn't miss the chance to throw in samples with my online order, either. I started opening them up... coupons, granola bar... and... aaaaand....wait for it.... wait for it...

... Two individually wrapped Sunsweet prunes. Shipped with my bras. As if I'm not already hyper aware of the final destination of my suckled breasts.

Mama had herself a good, long, much-needed belly laugh.

Sometimes I sits and thinks.

Sometimes I just sits.

Big People Church

Brandon and I got released from our Primary job so today we got to go to big people church. I sat by Mom in Relief Society. That was a first. Anika went to Sunbeams all by herself. She was red in the face and upset upon me leaving her there and asked, "Is this gonna take a long day?" But then she pulled herself together and did very well.

We sang this hymn in Relief Society today. It's always been one of my favorites. There are times of peace in life and times of darkness. There are times when I feel Heavenly Father so close and times when I feel He's forgotten all about me. This hymn is a reminder, a pep talk, that God is there whether we're feelin' it or not. In every change, He faithful will remain. (I don't deal well with change, it freaks me out.) The trick is to remember that and not lose confidence in Him. He will guide the future as he has the past.

1. Be still, my soul: The Lord is on thy side;
With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In ev'ry change he faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: Thy best, thy heav'nly Friend
Thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

2. Be still, my soul: Thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as he has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: The waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below.

3. Be still, my soul: The hour is hast'ning on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: When change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.


More talk about my cute daughter at church:

She is so good! I never thought my kid would be that kid. (Because she was always the screamer that I couldn't even walk near the building without her stiffening up and freaking out.) She sits there like a little lady with her hymn book and sometimes even raises her right arm to sustain people in their callings. Then she's off to Primary where, somehow, she's totally absorbing the lessons and even brings up things she learned that day. Love that little squirt.

Aaaand, now that she is all adjusted and cozy at church, I have 3 weeks (tops) to enjoy it before starting the whole parade over again... take the screamer in the hall, change the diaper in the mother's room, nurse the baby, take baby in, take baby out, give up for weeks at a time and stay home, etc. But for now... 3 peaceful weeks sitting next to Mom in Relief Society as we watch my feet swell larger and larger.

Weekend at the Commune

The boys worked on our house which involved moving all the gravel and putting in a french drain. Brandon also put new concrete inside one of the drains to connect them. We're hoping that fixes the basement water problem at least on this side of our house.

Inside, I kept the kids entertained. (Or tried) They liked bowling all the balls down my stairs.

And they had to enjoy that big gravel pile for a time.

We dress the prisoners in stripes now. It makes them easier to spot if they manage an escape.

Sunday usually involves the kids playing the Xbox. Anika plays a game called Mickey's Adventure and it usually ends badly. She is, indeed, my daughter. My Nintendo games used to cause me so much distress, I would bite the controllers in rage. They had teeth marks all over them. Anika gets just as mad at her game if things don't go right. She was so distressed, I had to just turn the dang thing off which made her really freak out. Emmet listened to the fit patiently with his hands covering his ears. After 1/2 hour of that, he climbed up on the couch to look out the window and said, "Uhhhhh, when are my Mom and Dad coming home?" Poor kid had to endure the insane asylum. He's so patient with her when she needs him. He's always trying to help her when she's upset.

Aaaaand, now it's Monday. Thank goodness for The Bachelor. Emmet has no school today and it's going to be 62 degrees here. Hopefully, we will get out and do something fun... get some sunshine on these two kids... helps with the rickets.

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