Tagged with Questions

I've been tagged! I am certainly very honored, I have wondered what this blog tag business is all about. Now I see it is just that someone wants you to answer some questions about yourself. I can do that. After all, I know myself the best, right?

1. Best thing you cooked last week?
Ok, first of all. I have a MAJOR case of postpartum foggy brain. I only have vague memories of last week. BUT I did actually meal plan last week so let me go check that meal plan to see if it happens to stir up my memory a bit. Ok, dinners were good last week but what stands out to my tastebuds is...steel cut oats made in the crockpot, topped with homemade applesauce, walnuts and maple syrup. I just discovered the world of steel cut oats and I am loving them. I also have a new found adoration for homemade applesauce. OH!! Pumpkin Muffins..those were also at the top of my list. A friend brought some over at a playdate and I have been eating them as fast as I can make them. DANG GOOD! Who needs chocolate chip pumpkin muffins..the plain pumpkin is good enough for me! They are the best I've ever tasted.

2. If money, time and babysitting were no object, where would you go and with who?
I'd take my hubby and go to England or Australia. Just go all over those countries and discover them-- countryside, outback and all. But a long cruise sounds fabulous....good idea Katie. I''d also adore going abroad with just my mom and sisters. That is on my "bucket list". ;)

3. When was the last time you cried?
Monday night, I was watching Jon and Kate Plus 8 and when she cried at seeing their family picture when her babies were newborn, I cried right along with her.

4. Five things you were doing 10 years ago:
1- I was being talked to apply to BYU-Hawaii by a friend of mine. I loved that place.
2- I was in love with one of my FHE brothers, he was about to on a mission.
3- Loving living with the roommates I had then..they are some of the best friends I've ever had.
4- I was loving and hating my major, I was planning to drop Microbiology for Psychology.
5- That year learned how to hula, how to develop film in a darkroom, that I LOATHE geckos and flirted alot in Hawaii.

5. Five things you were doing 5 years ago:
1- I was a new mother to my oldest daughter, Olivia.
2- I had just graduated from BYU.
3- Made the decision to not go back to work after having Olivia.
4- Was in the Stake Relief Society in church, served with some pivotal people in my life.
5- I met Amberli in 2003! I adore the ground she walks on.

6. Five things you were doing 1 year ago:
1- Became pregnant with my 3rd daughter and consequently had an unbelievably amazing homebirth.
2- Continued certifying as a doula--which I LOVE!! Now I need to send my papers in--then I'll be certified!
3- Supporting my hubby in his last semester of college. He graduated! WAHOO!
4- Finally got my sea legs to raising a 3.5-4 yr old and established the beloved 6:30 bedtime.
5- I found "my" hairdresser, Tamu, the goddess of hair--going to her like therapy.

7. Seven of your favorite hobbies:
1- Reading. Self help, LDS/Clean Romance Novels and Parenting books mostly.
2- Gardening, I can't wait for spring!
3- Learning new things--I am currently wanting to develop sewing skills.
4- Attending births, it is such a miraculous experience.
5- Photography--though I don't do it enough.
6- Getting Organized/Organizing
7- I really do enjoy writing and creating, I need to do it more.

8. Five favorite foods:
1- Soy Delicious Vanilla Ice Cream
2- Butternut Squash
3- Horizon Vanilla Yogurt, topped with grain-sweetened chocolate chips #2 and walnuts
4- Apples dipped in almond butter
5- Pineapple

9. Five places you've been:
Some of my favorites with fun memories
1- New Orleans, LA
2- Oahu, Hawaii
3- Long Island, NY
4- Washington D.C.
5- St. Louis, Missouri--I really only love it for the Children's Museum

10. Ten Favorite Memories:
I really got into this one..I just kept listing them. It was originally only 5 memories.
1- My wedding day..and the night ;)
2- The births of all three of my daughters and looking them in the eye for the first time.
3- Laying on the hood of my high school best friend's car (Tracie Jordan) in the warm Louisiana night air and laughing and laughing and laughing/Being Mercedes Benze and December Noel :)--only she and my mom will get this.
4-Any Christmas or 4th of the July at my grandparent's house--specifically dancing to jazzy Christmas music around the Christmas Tree while decorating it.
5- Riding the ferris wheel or the water log ride with my dad at Hamel's park
6-Our family vacations where my mom would always make us stop at random historical sites and learn or get rocks..lol
7--The time my mom made me and Traci (my sister) take her negative review card of the hotel where we were staying to the front desk and we made Tempest (our littlest sister) do it.
8--My grandfather taking me on dates to Chick-Fil-A or Wendy's and him letting me get the biggest burger I wanted..despite the fact that I was pretty small.
9--Introducing my daughters' to their newest sibling/my whole little family talking, cuddling in bed on weekend mornings
10-My freshman and sophomore years with my roommates-those memories are endless and precious
11-The day my dad attended this tennis match that I really wanted him to come to
12-Watching black and white movies with my mom
13-Playing Barbies with Traci for HOURS on Sunday afternoons
14-Me, Mom and Traci doing our hair in the bathroom and Traci doing the "Black Mask" comb play
15- Tempest spelling "Bill"--B-I-L-L-L on the Medicine Shoppe Conference vacation..hilarious.
16-Teaching Taylor how to spell and Tempest her colors
17-The time Traci drank gasoline...hilarious and scary all at once
18-Hearing my mom laugh out loud from another room in the house when she was watching TV
19-Overhearing my mom talking on the phone and hearing her say "Tisha has the eye of the tiger, if there is something she sets her mind to accomplish she always does it"--thus my love for Rocky..lol
20-When Mamamaw (my grandmother) would make "goodiebags" for us when we left to go home made up with sugary teacakes.
21-Dates to TCBY with my Dad

Okay..I will stop now...

The funny thing I realize is that the experiences I cherish the most are connected with lots of laughter,sentiment or where I was moved to tears. My family really has laid such a loving and happy foundation for a good, joyful life--I am so blessed. I hope I can do the same for my daughters.

Thanks for tagging me Katie! I am now tagging Amberli, Chellae, Garaghty, Lon and Allie. I don't get to hear from ya'll enough at all and heaven knows we used to sit and talk for hours. So, TAG YOU'RE IT! Copy and paste these questions and answer them on your blog.

My Two Month Old Cupcake

And what a difference 8 weeks can make. My delicious daughter, Michaela, is a delight to our family. Her sisters can't get enough of her and Sam and I are completely enchanted. We love the newborn baby stage, it is a shame it goes by so quickly. Olivia is the proud recipient of many smiles and grins from Mika. It has been neat to see Olivia become so capable at scooping her up and bringing her to me if I take too long to get to her littlest sister. Sam is faring incredibly well despite the increase of drama and
volume--of course with the extra emotion comes much more love for daddy. The girls sure love their father. And for good reason, he adores them. We took them all the Sam's work Christmas party when Michaela was 5 wks old. He was so excited about showing them off. He turned 30 in December, that number being significant because that is his paternal "score". 3 girls, 0 boys. Here are some memories from the last 8 weeks of Michaela's life.

Mimi and Poppy came to visit 5 days after Michaela was born. Olivia and Maia went on many dates with their grandparents and bonded quickly. This is my dad and Maia playing. Maia thought it was fun to get a closer look at one another thru the purple tutu.
My parents holding their third grandchild and granddaughter. Have I mentioned that I am still the sole grandchild producer for them, so far? My sisters have plans to change that but we shall see. If they don't get busy soon, then I will be done before they start. Will that make me old?

Mimi and her grandjewels ;)

Sam's 30th Birthday Cake--gotta love cookie dough ice cream cakes from Baskin Robbins!

Sam's Current Paternal Score: Girls-3, Boys-O. Any bets for the next decade?

Olivia and Michaela before Mika's debut at church

My little creamy babies on Christmas Eve

Two month old Michaela--The Cupcake :) Delicious isn't she? Don't ya love those cheeks? We are not quite used to babies with chubby cheeks. A few days after she was born, I woke in the middle of the night, looked at her face and was startled. In the dark room, it looked like her cheeks were swollen from an allergic reaction and my heart almost stopped. Then I realized that her cheeks were just chubby. Every once in a while, I wake up with the same reaction only to remember that I am blessed with a cute baby with yummy, full cheeks. They sure get their share of kissing, that is for sure.

Books of the New Year

This year, I want to read more literature. Besides fun parenting books, I read a lot of LDS romance novels for leisure reading, but I wanted to get into other types of novels. A good friend told me she was reading The Red Tent. I remember a friend in high school telling me a little about it. So I was intrigued enough to check it out from the library. I do like it but I still not sure if I like it completely. That said, it is a very captivating and very well written.

*UPDATE* The more I read it, the more I am finding it is not a book I want to finish. I have a feeling it will bother me rather than be one that adds to my spirit. So even though my curiosity wants to finish it, my gut (and a friend who is familiar with how I take things in and process them) says that I will be better off not finishing. So, I am going to read Jane Eyre--a likely good fit for this tender hearted romantic.

Next, I want to finish The Screwtape Letters (a book I began in 2002) and Pride and Prejudice--a book I never finished but still managed to score an A on for my senior english book analysis. That was the year that I discovered the 6 hr A&E version of the movie.


As far as children's books go, we are big Mo Willems fans here. Last year we discovered his Elephant and Piggie Series with titles like Today I Will Fly and My Friend is Sad--the former being our favorite. We were very happy when Santa awarded us with afore mentioned masterpiece ;) Well, at our last library trip, we checked out his newest books I Am Invited to a Party and There is a Bird on your Head--can you say hilarious?? Our favorite new quote is WE MUST BE READY!! *you'll have to read them to know what I am talking about* and there is nothing like hearing your two yr old playfully yelling that phrase. We ALL begin to laugh or grin widely at that--Sam included.

So, all you moms, dads, grandparents and anyone who likes to read a good children's book, you have to check out these books if you want a fun read with the kids in your life! Our other Mo Willem's faves: Knuffle Bunny and Edwina, The Dinosaur Who Didn't know She Was Extinct.

And now I better jump at the chance to read my book while all is quiet at my house--of course right when I typed that the baby started to whimper a little, how do they know??

Loyal Royalty

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so
that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other
people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others."

^^ Authored and published by Marianne Williamson ^^

The first time I read this, my spirit recognized these words as truth. Since then I haven't gone more than a few days without the line "You were born to make manifest the glory of God within you" going thru my mind. This year I am going to memorize this statement and begin to say it to my children so that their spirits will take it in (or never forget in the first place) as a core belief as well.

Ever since I was a little girl, I remember my parents telling me how precious, valuable and loved ALL people are. I remember watching documentaries about Martin Luther King with my mother and her telling me that all people are loved children of God and that we are all to be treated with respect and dignity. I have had a testimony of my divinity as a daughter of God as long as I can remember. And it has been a belief and knowledge that has centered and steadied me thru many difficult times. That knowledge has been what the adversary has tried to undermine and corrupt. But no matter, I know this is true--that I am a daughter of God as much as I know that God lives and loves me. I wonder why we shy away from taking in and living such a powerful truth.

Are we afraid we will seem arrogant and selfish? Maybe so, I have had those thoughts before but living that truth automatically does the opposite. There is no way that I can know of my own divinity without seeing it in others--which tends to lead to a desire to help them know and see it for themselves.

There is nothing like a fresh beginning to inspire our spirits and to helps us remember or seek out the greatness and potential that we all possess. It is my desire that I maintain that inspiration and remembrance thru consistent efforts of faith, purpose and determination. That I will have the opportunity to see myself as the Lord sees me and live loyal to that truth. When I was a teenager at a youth conference,one of the speakers said," Be loyal to the royal that is within you--for you are a child of the King"

I can only imagine the light and peace that would abound by walking thru the moments of my life and putting to action the meaning of that quote. It is a New Year-- where everything is possible. Life is full of possibilities, I can be one too if I believe.