IF YOU STAND HERE LONG ENOUGH, YOU'LL SEE YOURSELF COME OUT. THERE'S 2 OF EVERYBODY IN THERE

My local Macey's, I think, is one of those paradoxes of the universe where everything comes together. A lot of my great ideas have come while sitting in the parking lot. I've seen everyone there too. Or at least their twin. I've seen, I swear, Warren Jeffs, Angelina Jolie, and President Bush. (There is also this weird guy that dresses all in white and has a gray beard and long hair that looks like a modern Judas Iscariot. You others that live here probably have seen him too. He's always walking into the parking lot when I see him.) Anyway, the other day I was waiting in the car for Jason to come out and I noticed this lady with long red hair pulling a couple of little kids along behind her. She was shaped like me and looked like me. All the way down to the straggly hair, no make-up, worn out mommy look. I thought "I look awful. Time for a change." I called my friend who does hair and she gave me a new do that I absolutely-drum roll please-LOVE! I'm really looking forward to having short hair when I'm nursing. There's nothing like long tangled hair sticky with breast milk.

In other news this week, we decided Saturday would be a good time for the baby to come. (I'm not due for a month.) This pregnancy has gone by SO quickly. Until this week. Now that it is HOT and I'm gaining 2 pounds a week, peeing 6 times a night, and generally miserable, everything has slowed down. Except my contractions. BLAST. Good thing I have cute little Alec around to hold and snuggle. For pictures, click on Kristen's blog. He's freakin cute.

Ben started first grade. We miss him. He's LOVING it, of course but our home feels empty while he's gone. He gets to go to orchestra before school twice a week and loves that the most. BRAG ALERT: He can play "Hot Cross Buns" on the piano and the violin and is very proud of himself. He even taught Jane how to play it on the piano.

Life is moving along here. I have a list of stuff to finish before the baby comes. Anyone up for a day spent painting the ceilings and kitchen cabinets of my condo? I'll feed you....

I haven't done a post forever because nothing and everything is going on right now. I'm afraid that learning how to balance the stress of waiting while still trying to be productive and active doesn't go well with pregnancy hormones. In the next month there will be a lot of changes. Or none. We have no idea. We've been "livin' on love" and faith for the past 2 years. Some of you who read this blog are probably wondering to yourselves what the heck fire we think we're doing. I'll answer that. WE DON'T KNOW except to say that we're trying to follow promptings and have been directed a lot by the spirit. I kind of feel like we're Lehi and Sarai being led in the wilderness and when we're righteous, we're told where to go but we don't know our end destination. It is all quite frustrating. However, a lot of big blessings have come from our constant delays and set backs in this career change. I'm going to list them because tonight I need a reminder of what they are so I don't lose it again!
1. We've spent the entire summer together as husband and wife teaching our children to start routines that include prayer and scripture study as a family and as individuals. It's made a TREMEDOUS difference in the confidence of our children and the atmosphere in our home.
2. We can stay up late any night we want because we don't have to get up for work the next morning.
3. The house stays clean longer because there are 2 of us working on it.
4. We've had to completely rely on our Heaven Father for EVERYTHING which has added greatly to the strength of our marriage and my testimony.
5. Because of our struggles which led to a stronger focus on our family, we heard the prompting that there was another child waiting and now Natalie is on the way. Babies are always blessings.

A day OUT

Today we had to GET OUT of the house and break the routine to keep mommy from going insane! Jason had this brilliant idea to go to the church history and art museum. I hadn't been there in years. The have a really fun exhibit called "I Am A Child of God". The kids had a blast learning about how the tabernacle was built, looking at antiques, and playing in the exhibit. We only saw about 1/5 of what the museum had to offer before we had to leave. Lizzy even got to meet a pioneer woman in the bathroom who showed off her pretty pioneer dress. If you haven't been there in a while, you should go again.

Question of the Day

My question today is: Why is the spoon for the Arctic Circle Sundae only 4 1/2 inches long (yes, i measured it) when the "above the rim" sundae itself is about 6 1/2 inches deep? My baby NEEDED the last of the whipped cream, caramel, and ice cream at the bottom of the cup. I had to wait 21 blocks before I could find a new spoon and finish it off. That is ridiculous.

P.S. The below post is a picture of Jane and Lizzy the day Jane came home from the hospital. They were glad to get reaquainted by snuggling and sleeping together.