A Change Will Do You Good

I love autumn. I was telling someone the other day that I think I could live in these temperatures all year round - though maybe I'd throw in a couple weeks of winter and summer. It's perfect running weather. Perfect walking weather. Perfect going to the park weather. Perfect pondering weather.
I do miss Park City at this time of year. When we lived up there, we had oodles of trails down the street from our home. The hill behind our house was starting its magical transformation this time of year - changing from green to splashes of red, yellow, orange, gold. I think the miracle of the changing leaves prompts in me the desire to change as well. The leaves change so gracefully - they make it look so easy. Change in myself seems ever so much harder - choppy, resilient - and just when I think I see a glimpse of that beautiful golden leaf that I desperately want to be, I fall back into my old patterns, bad habits, sins of commission, sins of omission. Seriously people, some items on my New Years resolution list have been stuck there for years and years. Mocking me.
And so, even though it is not a new year, it is a new season and it gives me the motivation to DO BETTER. I have spoken about perfection and I am not going to seek that. I am going to seek progress. Progress in my house, progress in my health, progress in my parenting, progress in my relationship with God. I'm looking forward to general conference because that helps me in my motivation as well.
I was looking through some old journals today and my reflections this time of year. Speaking of change, it's amazing how much can change in your life in such a short period of time. 4 years ago, I was working full-time for the U.S. Forest Service in the federal building downtown. Most days for lunch I would run up City Creek Canyon, but on Thursdays I would walk to temple square, sit in the main street plaza and just ponder and write.
This time of year - 4 years ago - I had recently experienced a miscarriage. It was really devastating to me because it was our first and we were so excited and it had taken us 9 months to get pregnant. I just wanted to share some thoughts from this time of year 4 years ago and express my gratitude right now in my life for my beautiful daughters and amazing husband...
Oct, 2004: "...A little girl just walked by. Oh how I pray for the day when I can hold my own child. When I can kiss & smile upon my own posterity. It seems so easy for some. So matter-of-fact - like it's supposed to be. I pray for Godly patience. My patience won't do. It grows thin & painfully sorrowful. I know that God has patience. He has so much patience with me. I should have some patience with Him and His plan for me.
...Sitting here at lunch, gazing up at the beautiful temple - God's castle here on earth. Today is perfect. There's a bit of wind blowing - just enough to glide through my hair and whisper of God's love. I've been noticing His love signs more lately - a beautiful sunset, a bright-colored flower, a soft breeze, a magical rainstorm. He tries in so many ways to show me how much He cares & so many times I'm too busy to notice. How that must break His heart. I know He just wants to reach out and hold me and help me remember who I am. So many voices tell me that I am a child of the world instead of God. It takes constant reminders to bring back that knowledge of divinity."

Attempting to FLY

So, a few weeks ago I was feeling pretty down about everything - my messy house, my lack of exercising, my overspending, my amazing ability to lose things like library books and debit cards, etc, etc.
It was just after Labor Day and I decided to look into something my sister had done a couple years ago - the FlyLady way of doing things. I'm sure many of you have heard about her and you may love her way of doing things or you may hate it. She has you put housework, errands, etc into an everyday routine. An every day part of your life. I had a part of me that rebelled against this. I am not a person who really likes to have every part of my day scheduled. I like to go with the flow. I like to be flexible. On the other hand, my current schedule (a day for each major chore - laundry, mopping, bathrooms) was obviously NOT working.
I looked into it more and what I loved about it was that she is SO against perfectionism. She understands that no one is perfect. In fact, a few days into it, I read what FLY stands for - FINALLY LOVING YOURSELF. This is something that I needed. It really put me in the right direction and I can say that the past couple weeks my house has been cleaner than it has been in years. I always wondered how in the world people did it - kept their house clean with 2 little kids running around all day. The thing that stuck with me was ROUTINE. Simple things like cleaning the toilet and countertops in the bathroom after I get ready for the day, folding the laundry right out of the dryer & putting it away, running the dishwasher at night and putting them away in the morning, keeping my sink shining - these have made a huge difference for me. There are still some things she promotes that I haven't bought into 100% - like I HATE wearing lace-up shoes all day. They're hot and annoying and I'd rather go barefoot. I also try to workout and do my scripture study in the morning, so I don't immediately get ready for the day the second I get up, but I feel like it's coming together pretty good. I'm just really starting, but I have hope that if I make this part of my ROUTINE and if I don't beat myself up if I slip here and there, then I CAN do it! My main problem before was that I was caught in an endless cycle of letting things get dirty, using all my energy to clean it perfectly, and then being so tired that I let it get dirty again and the cycle continued. Staying on top of it is a lot of work, but SO WORTH IT.
I'm sure there are a lot of "DUH!s" out there from those of you that are already on top of it and didn't need anyone to help you get there, but I did need a wake-up call and some guidance and I'm happy right now to not live in CHAOS (can't have anyone over syndrome) :)

Name Scattegories

I had some time on this mellow Sunday and decided to give this a shot. Not very original, but it is what it is.

what is your name? Heidi
4 letter word: Home
pro sports team: Hawks
celebrity/band: Heather Locklear
vehicle: Hummer
tv shows: Happy Days, Handy Manny (for McKinley), Hannah Montana (for Kalli)
city: Houston, TX
boy name: Hayden
girl name: Hadley
occupation: Home health aid
something you wear: Hat
something you throw away: hairball
food: Honeydew melon (mmmm)
something found in a bathroom: Hairspray
reason for being late: Hot sex
something you shout: Howdy!

Signing Time, Preschool, and Birthday Recap

Sorry I had to do this 3-in-1 post, but there's a lot to share.

First, I wanted to share a video of Ireland. I realize I don't write nearly as much about her on this blog as I do McKinley, but I wanted to share a video of her doing signs. I was introduced to Signing Time by my friend Britany when McKinley was probably 10 months old. We bought 12 of the DVDs and McKinley LOVED them. Ireland has loved them as well & probably knows close to 30 signs. It is so much fun to watch her grow and learn and express herself. I tried forever to get a video of her as Signing Time comes on - she gets so excited and waves her arms - but she wouldn't do it for the camera. Anyway, I could have gone on with the quizzing, but once she heard milk, she wanted to go find some. Enjoy!


Second, I wanted to do a re-cap of McKinley's birthday. It went really well and she had a great time. She kept saying "I'm the birthday girl!" and "Happy Birthday to me!" Here's some pics from the fun, eventful day:

McKinley with her traditional crown, birthday tablecloth, and birthday plate. I made french toast for the occasion. We do have quite a few birthday traditions. You can pin that to my mom (which, by the way, set my husband up for extreme failure after we were married, but my girls will have to deal with that later).

Her birthday was also her first day of preschool. It technically started a week earlier, but she had remnants of the stomach flu and I didn't want the other kids to get it. We do a combined preschool with 4 other mom's in the neighborhood. It was at our house this week and McKinley had a great time with all her friends.

Cupcakes for snack time at preschool. Hey, there's 2 missing! ... ;)

McKinley getting ready to let go of the traditional one-for-each age balloons.

She miraculously took a nice, long nap that day. When she woke up I told her where we were going. She got SO excited and said "I'm going to dance with Chuck E. Cheese! I won't be scared!" It was worth the money we spent on pizza and tokens just to see the look on her face as she danced with Mr. Cheese. It was priceless! She even gave him a big hug at the end.

After a couple hours at Chuck E. Cheese (thanks for coming Matthews and Edwards kids), Jason took McKinley for a date to our local Wal-mart. Meet the newest member of our family - Dezi the fish. McKinley loves it. She tickles it, talks to it, brings it water (I had to explain that one to her). Her only worry is that Dezi is missing her mommy and daddy. Maybe we'll have to get 1 or 2 more so she's not lonely.

My 3-year-old Sweet Pea

Today McKinley turns 3 years old. Below is my letter to her - along with some growth pictures and a slideshow of scrapbooking from her 3rd year...

My Dear Sweet Pea-
I say this every year, but I feel like time has been in fast forward. 3 years ago today I held you in my arms for the first time. 10 days late, but every minute worth the wait. I was in awe that this perfect little body came from ME - that I got to be able to be your mommy and spend time with you and teach you and watch you grow. It was a miracle. It is STILL a miracle every day. I still look at you - into those blue-green eyes and wonder how it is possible that you are my girl. Your growth this past year - in EVERY facet imaginable - has been astounding to me. My continued request is that you slow down a little so I don't miss anything. You are so bright - just this morning you told me that MY birthday is in March. How did you know that? You are so beautiful. The color of your hair is such a perfect mix of mine & daddy's. Your eyes are so honest and captivating. Your little body is so capable of anything. Your sweet spirit brightens and warms our home every day. My love, my awe, my gratitude for you grows every day. I love you McKinley. I hope not a single day goes by in your entire life that you don't feel my deep, heartfelt love for you.

August Newsletter & Slideshow

I realize much of this is repeat - but I have to capture it all in one place for posterity. I also realize that the video is not the clearest, but I make it on Pinnacle Studio (so I can burn a DVD) and I haven't found a way to upload it that doesn't take 5 hours, but is still crystal clear. If anyone out there has a suggestion, I would be completely open! Anyway, the link to the newsletter is on the left, video below (don't forget to pause the music on the left) and kids' highlights below.




McKINLEY: Here’s some things that our sweet, hilarious, adorable little girl has been up to:
-She was sitting at the table and said “There’s beer in my cup!” Mommy was confused considering she didn’t think McKinley even knew what that was, so went over there and McKinley pointed to the BEAR on her cup – “See mommy! Beer!”
-McKinley has really gotten into singing and will make up her own random songs, tunes, and dances. They’re so cute.
-She is still quite the little bossy girl and tells anyone who she thinks is messing up “No! That is not how you do it!” Mommy was doing singing time in nursery and she kept turning to the poor little boy next to her and saying – THAT IS NOT HOW YOU DO IT!
-When the Olympics were on, they had Bella Karoli talking about gymnastics. They went to a different shot and McKinley says “Mom – make Jesus come back on!”
-We’ve been driving more with the windows rolled down, but McKinley doesn’t like it too much. She says “Mom – please turn the wind off!”
-McKinley: “Ireland hit me!” Mom: “No she didn’t.” McKinley: “Mom don’t say that! I’m talking to dad!” Dad: “yes, McKinley?” McKinley: “I love you dad.” I think we’ve gone from the terrible twos to the sassy threes!
-At Cascade Springs, McKinley saw some water skeeters and they made a shadow on the dirt below the water. She says “Mom – look! A clue, a clue!” So –she pulls out her “notebook” and pretends to write.
-McKinley was dancing and mommy asked what she was doing. She said “Dancing with Jesus!”
-Mom was on her computer and McKinley was in the room with her. Mom had to run upstairs for a minute and when she came back down and saw McKinley on her computer, she looks over and says “Mom – I’m checking my e-mail!”
-Somehow we came up with a song that we like to sing at lunchtime. It goes “There’s more, more on the way – we got more, more – here you say.” (2x) then “We’re gonna eat, eat, eat to the beat” (2x). The girls love to sing it.
-McKinley is down to about 1 nap a week. She still usually has at least an hour of quiet time, but in the next couple months, she may be nap-free.
-McKinley looked over at mommy one morning and said “Hey, little lady.” We have no idea where she got that from. Toy Story?
-McKinley likes to help mommy vaccum, sweep, and mop. Mommy was done sweeping, but McKinley wanted to help, so she took chips from the pantry and smashed them on the kitchen floor so she would have something to clean up.

IRELAND: Ireland is amazing, beautiful and full of life. She’s been doing so many fun things, including:
-Ireland can sign and say many words, including: FLOWER, HOT, KISSES, SHOES, SISTER, BUBBLES, STINKY, BABY, BIRD, PLEASE, NO
-Ireland likes to bang her head with the big puzzle pieces.
-Ireland still isn’t a fan of taking pictures, but once in while she will look at the camera and say “CHEESE!”
-Ireland is a big collector of rocks and sticks. We just have to watch the rocks in the mouth.
-She also loves to suck on markers – especially with the lids off.
-She’s also gotten into the shoe thing lately and loves putting on mommy’s flip flops, daddy’s work shoes, and McKinley’s Barbie shoes.
-Ireland is getting pretty good at brushing her little teeth. We’re just waiting on one more molar and she’s done with her 1st set of molars.
-She has started to get stubbornly independent. She could not get some shoes on the other day and when mommy tried to help her, she got very upset and only wanted to do it herself.
-If Ireland wakes up before McKinley is supposed to get out of her room for nap/quiet time, mom has to keep a close eye on her or she’ll walk right over to McKinley’s door and start banging – “KEEY! (Mckinley) SISTER!”
-Ireland was with mom when she put some clothes in the washing machine. When she saw it going round and round, she started blowing – like it was a pinwheel.
-We’ve had to start strapping Ireland in to her high chair. Mom looked over one day and she was standing on her tray! She also likes to get up on tables and countertops.
-If Ireland is in a bad mood and you give her something she doesn’t want – watch out! She will throw it either at you or the wall.

Adventures in Camping

This year for our annual Labor Day camping trip with Jason's family, we went just below Fishlake. We were missing Grandma and Grandpa Devenish who were galavanting around the country in their camper! Here are the good, the bad, and the ugly (in reverse order, so we can end on the positives)from last weekend:

THE UGLY
-Puking. Lots of it. The girls caught a stomach flu bug and had a hard time eating anything and keeping it down. We almost went home, but ended up sticking it out. Don't know that we should've, but we did.
- I counted 8 times for Ireland in 3 days. My favorite was when I had her in the hiking backpack. Yeah...all over my back, hair, etc.
- McKinley threw up 3 times. She perked up Sunday afternoon, but before then, she just laid around and didn't want to do or eat anything.
- Poor Jason. He woke up the day after sleeping in the tent and could barely move. He has a bad back anyway and the air mattress didn't agree with him. He was really sore the next couple days. In addition, he caught the bug and was up almost all night on Sunday night in the bathroom. He was not a happy camper (sorry, I couldn't help it) the next day.

THE BAD
-Tenting it really wasn't so bad, but everyone else had trailers. They were in a spot with no shade, so we had to camp a little ways down the road away from everyone where we could find shade.
-Jason really wanted to get to the camping spot by Friday night. We didn't get there until Saturday afternoon. The puking incidents slowed us down a bit.
-I was helping to make pancakes on Monday morning because Jason didn't feel up to it. I told McKinley she could help me break an egg & put it in the bowl. Don't know exactly what happened but before I knew it, there was flour, oil, egg everywhere. All over me, McKinley, and the Hamilton trailer. It really was rather comical - I wish I would've taken a picture - but it took a while to clean up that mess.
-We were fine in the tent the first night - warm and dry - even with all the rain, but Ireland woke up about 3:30am and didn't go back to sleep until about 5.

THE GOOD
-Jason had a fun ride on his dirt bike that first day.
-The dogs were basically in heaven up there. Tundra had to be chained since he would run into the street, but the kids from all the families (Jeff's friends) were so cute with him and he loved the attention. Sydney had a great time wandering, smelling, loving it up there.
-It was cool weather most of the time, but it was really a nice break from the heat that we had had previously and it was a good excuse for a fire!
-No one caught any fish, but everyone had a great time fishing. I held Ireland and we both took a nap as the sun warmed us and the wind rustled through the long grass and over the Fremont River.
-The stars at night were breathtaking. I LOVE seeing the stars at night while we're camping. The girls and I sang Twinkle, Twinkle and I am like a star.
-We loved sitting around the campfire - talking, roasting marshmallows, cooking hot dogs.
-We went on some fun 4-wheeler rides.
-The kids and I had fun playing Candyland and UNO.
-Good food - I was thankful we didn't forget anything!
-We had a great time visiting with the St. George Hamiltons and the Reed kids. Keeley was so sweet to let me steal her stuff since most of ours was back at our camp.
-That last night Scott Christensen let us use his cabin up there. It was so nice - the girls were even able to take a bath!

Ireland, Camri & Me

Aunt Keeley and a sick McKinley

Hanging around the campfire

Had to get a picture of this. The ONLY time my kids fall asleep in someone's arms is if they're COMPLETELY overtired or sick.

McKinley's first time fishing. She was bummed she didn't catch a fish, but she still had fun. It was neat to see Jason share his passion for fishing with his daughter.