Forgetful...

I have been so forgetful lately, especially when it comes to remembering to bring my camera with me on outings.  I have done that so many times in the last month and a half or so.  I think that it all correlates to when I started getting up at 5 during the week to go to the gym.  It is really the only time that works, and I feel so much better when I am going consistently.  I could take Maggie and Elliot to the daycare there, but it is really expensive and Maggie screams bloody murder when I leave her.  Plus, I'm pretty sure that is where Maggie picked up her latest stomach bug.  Anyway, I think all available brain cells are going to my uterus at this point (84 days and counting-yea!!).  But I feel so bad that I haven't been able to document so many things.  I thought that I should journal about them, just so I can remember some day.  

At the beginning of September we went to the Spokane County Fair.  We went on free-fair day, which happened to be a Monday and I finally planned a family night :), and I thought it would be totally crazy, but the the kid ride area was really not that bad.  We didn't have to wait in line much at all.  I was totally kicking myself for forgetting the camera because Grace and Elliot had such a blast on the rides!!  It was so cute.  They were seriously in little kid heaven.  We bought a bunch of tickets and they got to go on just about every ride.  Elliot was so cute because he was wearing this hat of Rays that was way too big for him, but he refused to take off.  We just tightened it up and he ran around in it.  We ended the night by buying some cotton candy and eating it on our way back to the car.  It was such a fun night, that I was sure was going to be kind of a nightmare.  The kids had so much fun-even Maggie got to go on the train ride!

Next we went to Pocatello to see my parents for a long weekend.  We actually went because one of Ray's best friends was getting married in Logan that weekend.  And, yes, I forgot the camera.  We had such a good time and Ray and I got to go to Logan alone for the day of the wedding-gotta love grandma and grandpa!!  It was fun going to Logan and it was really enlightening for Ray, seeing all his old friends and where their lives have taken them.  Grandma and grandpa's house is so much fun, Max even loves it there, and Grace and Elliot were crying when we had to leave :(

There have been numerous activities since then for which I forgot my camera.  We went to a Pasta Feed fund raiser for Grace's school, which was seriously exorbitantly priced for what we got!!  There were a bunch of activities for the kids.  I think the favorite was the dance group that performed.  Grace, Elliot and Maggie loved it.  The were all clapping enthusiastically at the end of every number (much to Ray's chagrin on Elliot's part!).  Then Ray took Maggie and Grace to the children's museum last weekend.  Grandma bought us a family pass for christmas-thanks mom!!  I was at home working on potty training with Elliot, but Grace and Maggie had a blast!! (Okay, Ray forgot the camera on that one-but I forgot to have him take it!!)  And just yesterday evening we went on a little hike perfect for kids.  All of the kids were having such a great time climbing up on the big rocks and running around.  At one point Grace was running around yelling "the wilderness is so fun!", and Elliot was so insistent that we follow the trail.  Maggie was so cute marching along behind the kids.  There were so many photo ops, it was so beautiful with all the changing leaves among the pine trees, but again I forgot the camera!  Anyway, here are a few pics that I have managed to take in the last couple of months.

Elliot was so funny this day.  He wanted to play on the computer, but I told him no because we needed to get dressed for the day.  A few minutes later he came out of his room in this outfit.  His pants, I'm not sure where he found them, are way too small and on backwards!  We are still struggling with potty training-the one day method wasn't all that effective.  But we will struggle on!
This picture was taken this morning, Grace and Maggie got new church dresses yesterday and wanted pictures of them.  She is actually smiling!!  I think I just caught her at the right time saying "cheese"!
Grace being silly.  She is so funny, she has been asking me some really thought provoking questions.  I have been talking a lot to her about modesty and respecting our bodies that Jesus made for us.  We were watching something on Discovery channel about some aboriginal tribes in Africa, they people basically wear loin cloths and that is about it.  Grace says, "mom, they are NOT dressed very modestly".  I had to try to explain to her about different cultures, etc.  She is still brining it up.  The other day she asked me if the Bratz dolls (hate them, by the way!) want to live in Africa.  She also asked me how the baby was going to get out of my tummy.  I explained it to her the best I could and she seemed to understand.  I just hope she doesn't try to repeat it to her class during show and tell or something!  She is a smart one!
I could not get a good picture of Maggie's new little sweater dress.  I really wanted to because it is so darn cute!!
Here is a full pic of the dress, but you can't see it very well with all the light in the background.  Maggie is suddenly saying a bunch of new words.  It is so cute and funny.  Her new favorite is "no".  She says it to me all the time, but it is like a long, drawn out noooo.  It is really cute, sometimes.  She is a serious ham.  She is always trying to make everyone laugh!!

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Happy Birthday Mom!! This picture was taken on my 1st birthday. How our family has changed since then! We have such an amazing family and it is all to you and dad's credit. You are such an amazing example to all of your children, friends, grandchildren-pretty much anyone you meet.  I also know that if I ever want to tell someone something and have them be really excited, you are the one to call!  You always give the wanted response!!  I hope your birthday is wonderful, spent with your newest little grandson. I love you.

Politics, Schmolitics

I am officially declaring that I am DONE with politics for the remainder of the presidential election.  No more debates for me.  The debates are so frustrating because both sides lie and spin and stretch the truth, and I am left feeling manipulated, frustrated and utterly helpless to do anything about it.  I have a tendency to be overly passionate about politics but I don't feel good when I am in the thick of it.  I am so sick of all the negative adds coming from both sides and the ENDLESS discussion by all the talking heads about things that don't really matter all that much.  I know who I am voting for, and I know that won't change, so why subject myself to that?!  I am voting for John McCain.  I say that with some trepidation because I'm not completely confident that he is the right person for the job.  I am nervous about Sarah Palin, mainly because of her lack of experience.  But I feel like I am choosing the "lesser of two evils" (even though I really don't think Obama or McCain are evil).  I seriously considered voting for Ron Paul, but a vote for Ron Paul is a vote for Barack Obama, and I truly believe that Obama would not be good for what I believe America should be.  

This weekend was general conference for my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Every 6 months the leadership of my church meets and has a worldwide broadcast where the leaders speak to the members for the purpose of giving guidance and direction.  Elder Boyd K. Packer gave a talk yesterday afternoon that really touched me.  He began by discussing the early saints of the church, and the persecution they suffered.  This persecution was greatly intensified when they were living in Nauvoo, IL in the 1840's.  They suffered mobbings and cruel persecution for their beliefs.  They sought redress from the governor of Illinois, Governor Boggs.  In response to this Gov. Boggs issued a proclamation that all mormons should be treated as enemies and should be exterminated from the state.  The situation became considerably worse after this extermination order was issued and finally the saints decided to leave and go west to no-man's land, where they could live and worship in peace.   These saints had turned Nauvoo from a swamp into a beautiful, thriving city where they had to leave literally all of their earthly possessions.  They had to leave behind the land and homes that they owned and walk across the country in the most deplorable of conditions to escape what had become state sponsored terrorism against them.  Eventually they attempted to appeal to the federal government for redress.  This was attempted several times.  On the last attempt Pres. Martin Van Buren told them that "their cause is just, but there is nothing I can do for you".  So their country, America-the land of the free, had turned her back on them.  Looked the other way.  Despite all of this, on July 24, 1849, when the saints had been in the Salt Lake Valley for 2 years, they had a celebration of America.  They all wore red, white and blue, waved American flags and celebrated the country that had allowed them to be "exterminated".  Despite all they had been through they still loved the idea of America, because that idea was divinely inspired.  The people running the country had made mistakes, but the idea of America still existed and offered them a chance of worshiping God how they wanted and offered them the chance of doing this peacefully.  And eventually this did happen.  

I love America.  I love the divinely inspired idea of America.  I love that I can live where I want, become whoever I want to be, and worship as I please.   I think that government has become so corrupt that most in power don't remember what America means.  The system of getting elected to congress or as president in this country has gotten so far off track that you can't possibly do it without getting your hands dirty.  I don't know that anyone can fix it.  So, I will support the candidate who I think will do the least harm.  But I will not rely on the government for anything.  I will rely on God, my family, and my faith.  I guess Barack would call me bitter for that, seeing how he is so much more enlightened and progressive than I.  But I call it smart, because the more you rely on government, the less freedom you have.  And I love America because I am free.

Congratulations To the Matt Croshaws!!

Asher Matthew Scott Croshaw entered the world on Friday September 19.  He was born about 4 weeks early after it was discovered that his mom, Crystal, had preeclampsia.  He was in the NICU for about a week with some respiratory problems, but finally got to go home on Sunday and is now doing very well!!  He is so adorable, and I think he looks just like his dad.  Congrats to Matt, Crystal and Valerie.  Good job, guys!!

The Girl Loves her Dad...

"Let us reflect gratitude for our fathers.
"Father . . . is ever willing to sacrifice his own comfort for that of his children. Daily he toils to provide the necessities of life, never complaining, ever concerned for the well-being of his family. This love for children, this desire to see them well and happy, is a constant in a time of change." -Thomas S. Monson

My sister Abby emailed us this song, Gracie, that is playing right now.  I had heard it before, but Ray hadn't and he had Grace listen to it with him.  She came upstairs and drew this picture for Ray.  It is the outline of her hand with her and Ray inside, with a heart on top.  She is such a sweet girl.
Ray is such a good dad, the kids absolutely adore him.  When he gets home from work they all totally freak out, climb all over him and I basically become chopped liver!!  He treats them like the little people that they are and has genuine conversations with them, showing genuine interest.  He also plays with them all the time.  He is definitely a hands on dad.  He wrestles with them and throws them around on the couches.  Even Maggie has always been anxious to get in on the action!  I have always known that his family is his number 1 priority and every decision he makes is made with our happiness in mind.  It is so important for little girls to have a good relationship with their father.  If they don't, it can leave a hole in them that they will constantly try to fill, sometimes in destructive ways.  I am so grateful that my girls have a dad like Ray! 

On a totally unrelated note...I actually did Grace's hair!!  It has gotten long enough to "do", and she saw a girl with her hair done like this at church and asked me to try it with her hair.  It worked!!  She was really excited!

This is also just a random picture of Grace and Elliot playing together, building something, and making a big mess!!  

Where Oh Where is Elliot?

The other day I came upstairs and could not find Elliot anywhere.  I could sort of hear him.  Finally he was found...

Please disregard the messy laundry room...I mean closet!!

I honestly have no idea how he managed this.  He is very determined and he really wanted to play with HiHo Cherry-O.  He has been asking me for it for the last few days and I would say no because I don't want Maggie to choke on the little cherries (which is why I put it up there in the first place!!).  

9-11-2001: The day that forever changed America, and the day that forever changed me

I was barely 26 years old at the time.  I remember watching the news before I left for work.  Ray was supposed to fly to Salt Lake that day for work.  It was reported on the news,  I was watching the Today Show, about the first plane hitting the towers.  I thought it was some horrible freak plane wreck.  Then the second plane hit, I saw people jumping from the highest floors of the world trade center, a plane hit the pentagon,  flight 93 crashed.  My country was under attack.  My view of the world began to shift.  Ray wasn't going anywhere that day, after all flights were grounded.  I left for work with my little portable radio to keep up on what was happening.  I got to work and everyone was talking about it.  An older lady I worked with said that she was sure it was the work of Osama Bin Laden.  I didn't even know who Osama Bin Laden was.  I was blissfully unaware and uniformed.  

I was shockingly ignorant.  

I had voted for Al Gore in the presidential election the previous year.  I had been so proud of myself for voting at all, exercising my rights as an American.  I had no clue what that really meant.  I voted for Al Gore based on sound bites I had heard on the network news and my liberal leanings, which were aided and abetted by my bleeding heart.  That is the day I changed.  My idea of a safe world was shattered.  I could not believe that something like that could happen in my country.  Before then, a terrorist was some abstract idea about someone who perpetrates a plane-jacking in some foreign place that was not America.  Terrorism was an idea that I had never given much thought.  I began to realize everything I had taken for granted up to that point in my life.  Every freedom.  I began to understand that there are people in the world, through some perverted idea of God, who hated me because I was an American, and they would never rest  in their attempts to destroy everything I had taken for granted.  

I began to realize that I deeply love my country.  Up to this point, with the help of my shiny new college education,  I had kind of been an America basher.   Big Bad America, was how I saw it.  Always trying to get one over on the little guy.  Breathtakingly Ignorant.  As I said, my view of the world shifted on that day.  I began to see America clearly for the  first time.  Being an American means being one of the lucky ones.  The hope and opportunity that America gives is unparalleled in the world.  The idea of America was inspired by God.  I will never take that for granted again.  I began to love my country.  I still can't hear the national anthem without getting teary eyed.

Say what you will about President George W. Bush, and I have given him a fair share of criticism, I am forever grateful for his leadership in the days after 9-11.  He led this country in the worst crisis it has ever known, he united us, and he took the threat seriously, to the detriment of his eventual political career.  I am also grateful to President Bush for keeping us safe for the next 7 years, something for which he gets virtually no credit.  In fact, because we have enjoyed such safety, people have become comfortable and have started to forget the unreal horror we all felt in the days after 9-11.  

Something positive came out of this horrible tragedy, for me.  I figured out who I really am.  Who I am became crystalized.  I am an AMERICAN!   I am a citizen of this country that is Divinely Inspired.   I began to pay more attention to the world around me.  I got control of my bleeding heart.  I have tried to become more thoughtful and informed about the country in which I live.  I will never take my freedom and liberty for granted again.

I will never forget.