Linkitude

I LOVED this post on cjane's blog and wanted to link to it here in case some of you are not already fans of cjane. Read it, think about it, and maybe figure out where (or how) you should be speaking and are not....


http://blog.cjanerun.com/2011/02/sunday-guest-post-series-angela.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CJaneEnjoyIt+%28c+jane+enjoy+it%29

Yellow Duck-tape & Sloppy Joe(')s

Quinn has figured out how to unsnap her onesie. Why is this such a problem you ask?

Because it was the ONLY barrier between her and getting her diaper off. Now do you understand??? To clarify- it was the only thing coming between me and poop all over the floor and her crib, or waking up to Quinn in a puddle of pee while her diaper sits useless on her bedroom floor. NOW do you understand??

So- the solution??

TA DA!



Yellow duck-tape. And she screamed and cried the first time we put it on, but now she refers to it as her "belt." Pretty handy, if you ask me. (Thank you Aunt Bonnie for the idea!)

Other than our diaper woes, I have been incredibley sick. Morning sickness is NOT limited to mornings, or afternoons, or really ANY certain time of day. I hate it. I really really hate it. But I try to remember that this is all in the name of something (or someone?) really wonderful.

So, why sloppy joes?, you may wonder. Because last night I got the brilliant idea to make them and they were the first thing in over 3 weeks that both sounded and tasted divine (other than Little Caesar's pizza). And after I ate my fill (3, it was 3 alright- I AM eating for two now ya know) I felt amazing- better than I have felt in a long time. I wish there was some way to convey to you the amazingness of that experience, but sadly- you will just have to take my word for it.

AND our apartment can now officially be referred to as Sloppy Joe's- since being sick, the dishes sit in the sink for at least a week, the toilet hasn't been cleaned in two and a half weeks (this is huge- I HATE having a dirty toilet), and our bed NEVER get's made anymore (why make it when I'm just going to fall back into it, the minute Quinn goes down for a nap?). Poor Tyson. We had to have "the talk" about lowering your standards.

I'm sorry hon- but the apartment is not going to be picked up and dinner simmering on the stove when you walk through the door every night. I know you've gotten used to that (yeah right!), but.... you've really got to lower your standards now, or I'm going to go crazy.

I think it went well. He only pulled out a few fistfuls of hair and then we moved on. So if you're looking for a dirty old time- stop by Sloppy Joe's (just remember to check your standards at the door!).

Thre3

That's right- we're pregnant. (Well, more specifically- I'm pregnant.)And, as it turns out- we're not super great at keeping a secret. So this is us really trying to keep it a secret.... ummm.... yeah- right.

We're so stinking excited!!

PS- we're only two months into this.....

Christmas Snapshots

christmas card...... electronically-speaking, of course

Merry friggin' Christmas!

Workin' on it....

So, we've been working on a lot of things with Quinn lately- dressing herself, reading scriptures (okay, just repeating after us, while we read scriptures), and saying "I love mom" or "I love dad."

From the picture above, you can see about how the dressing herself part is going...

.... and the rest is going just about as good.

As for scriptures, she averages about 10 words out of 20. It's not that she can't say the other fifty percent of the words, it's just that that darn spot-marking ribbon in the scriptures is so stinkin' fun to play with. Also, some of the words are a little iffy....

for example: "which" is always said with a "b" replacing the "w"- fun huh? (It doesn't help that Tyson and I giggle like little schoolgirls every time.)

Also, the word "yea" is always said like "Yay!!" and accompanied by clapping. (Yes, this also makes us giggle.)

And as for the "I love mom," well after saying it to her about 100 times yesterday morning, I finally gave in to her pleas for chocolate milk and ten minutes later (after drinking 3/4 of her chocolate milk), she walked into the kitchen and said,

I love Chocolate!

I think we're really starting to get through to her....

To RECEIVE the Holy Ghost

After Zoe was born, and left this earth very soon after, there was a period of about three months where I KNEW that I had the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. It was so easy to feel the love and guidance of the Lord. My heart was utterly broken and all those things that usually stand in the way of such communication were gone. I had no desire to sin, and I had absolutely no desire for the things of the world. I didn't even listen to the radio for fear some lyrics or words spoken would offend The Spirit. I read my scriptures more frequently, I prayed more earnestly, and I FELT things more purely than I ever had before or ever have since. The words, "Lo, I am with you alway." were ringing in my head constantly.

After this time, things gradually started to get back to normal- I began working out (and therefore listening to "normal" music-- it's hard to do hip-hop abs to Mo-Tab), I got back into school and started having days where I skipped either one or both of my personal scripture study and prayer. I occasionally had days that were just plain BAD- one in particular stands out in my mind.

I had just had surgery on my two badly crushed toes and had to rely on crutches to get around. One morning I woke up and it had snowed. Which meant that the three flights of stairs that had to be maneuvered in order to reach the parking lot were completely covered in the hateful white stuff. That morning I cried the entire way down the stairs- sliding on my butt, because I had fallen trying to use the crutches- cursing everything and everyone in sight. And my day only went downhill from there.

I didn't feel the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost anymore. It didn't leave overnight, but I realized that gradually the things of the world had seeped back into my life and all but extinguished the light of The Spirit, the same Spirit that had sustained me during the most trying time of my life.

I started trying in earnest to get that same companionship back, only to meet failure. I truly believe that during those three months, I was given a "double portion" of The Spirit in order to compensate for the loss that I felt so keenly, and I hope now that I will never have another experience that will call for such a miraculous gift again. But I still struggle everyday to do as the scriptures say, and "receive" the Holy Ghost and truly make him welcome in my life. It is hard with the general busyness of life, and the constant call of the world, but we are commanded to do it.

I am preparing a lesson for Relief Society on this very subject, which is what got me thinking so much about this. So, I want to pose a question to all of you who read this--

How do you receive the Holy Ghost in your day-to-day lives?