Neal Turns TWO!

On Friday, February 5th, Neal turned two years old.

 

He played with balloons, and his new chunky tonka cars/trucks.  He had a GOOD birthday and was lots of  fun to watch.  He runs all around and for the most part really enjoys life, until all of a sudden, something does not go his way...then it's a scowl and a scream!  Yeps, Neal is TWO YEARS OLD!!!

Dawn

Since this is February, the month of LOVE and the month we celebrate Neal's 2nd birthday.  I thought I might share some "love stories", do a bit of reminiscing and remembering the blessings that "LOVE" has brought in to my life and the lives of my family.

Friendship love is sometimes indescribable.  What do I look for in a friend?  Well, most of the time I don't really think about it.  The people in my life that I would call my friends have been put there by some unseen gravitational pull....a FEELING!

One Sunday after moving here to Payson, I can remember having that "FEELING" to sit by a beautiful woman, who radiated a spirit of pure kindness and humility.  So I asked her if I could sit by her.  I had seen her, watched her with her family, but had not yet had the chance to really meet her.  That is my first recollection of Dawn.  Little did I know that, Dawn, would become someone that would make a tremendous difference in my life.  There are many things I could write about Dawn, but today I'm going to write about an experience that took place two years ago today.

I was pregnant with Neal.  Very sick, high blood pressure and Neal was not doing very well.  I really had no idea just how serious my condition was and wouldn't until a day later.  On February 4th ,2008, I got up, went to the doctor for a check up and was hoping that the medication I was taking had helped lower my blood pressure and that perhaps I would not have to be on bedrest any longer.  That was my hope.  I'm sure that Dawn was taking care of Camilla..unless she was at kindergarten.  I was told that my blood pressure was too high and things were taking a turn for the worse.  I was also told by my doctor that he was going to transfer me to a doctor in Payson.  My heart started pounding harder than usual and I felt fear.  He then said, "I believe they will put you in the hospital and I think you need to be closer to home for that."  I was seeing a doctor in Provo which is about 20 minutes from home.  So I complied and went to those doctors, who confirmed what my doctor had said and they told me they wanted me admitted in to the hospital right away.  I thought I heard them say for 24 hour observation. 

My friend, Dawn, took care of my children for me so I could go home and lay down and prepare for Eric to take me to the hospital.  Eric took me that evening and stayed with me until it was time to go home and help my parents, who came to help with Spencer and Camilla.  When he left I began to feel very uncomfortable.  I tried writing in my journal, reading, praying and soon I started feeling pain.  Pain in the upper right hand side of my abdomen..which was right under my chest at that point and pain in my head and back.  I told the nurse and she tried to help me as much as she could.  I HATE being in the hospital, but I was trying really hard not to think about the WHITE walls and the chlostrophobic feeling that was choking me. 

I don't know what time it was, but it must have been evening, time for little ones to be put to bed and in walked, Dawn.  I just remember that I felt a calm feeling sweep over my body when she walked in the door, smiled at me and began asking how I was.  I could tell she was very concerned, worried and I knew her well enough that I knew she wanted to do whatever she could to make me feel better.  That's just who she is. 

We talked for awhile and I don't remember what we said, I do remember laughing a bit.  Then as I told her about feeling so much pain in my shoulders and head; she began to massage my shoulders and head.  She told me that I probably was experiencing a build up of gas and it wasn't releasing.  I had no idea that could possibly be what I was dealing with.  As time went on I felt some comfort and she continued to rub my shoulders and head.  I think the nurse gave me something to help with the gas as well.  Finally I told her that I was feeling enough relief that she could stop. 

I'm not sure if Dawn stayed much longer than that, or what happened next.  I do know that I was able to sleep. 

There are MANY things I could share about Dawn's ability to just "BE THERE" when I need her and I know there are many things that she did for my family when I could not be there for them.  I appreciate her more than I know how to express in words.

But in this one act of kindness and "LOVE" I knew that Dawn was there to serve me in a way that Jesus Christ himself would have if he were in that room with me.  The Savior washed his apostles feet because he truly loved them.  My friend, Dawn, helped me know that night of suffering, that not only did she love me, but that Jesus loved me too and was not going to leave me alone.  That is who Dawn is to me, the very reminder that I need that I am not alone.  

And that is the one love story I hope everyone gets to experience in their lives, to know they are NOT ALONE and that Jesus sends friends to us to help us through life.

I LOVE YOU DAWN!!!!

Spencer plays B-ball

Spencer has a basketball standard outside in the street, right in front of our home.  He loves to shoot baskets when the weather permits.  He wrote a paper about wanting to be a pro-basketball player.  So when the city posted that Basketball season would begin and that it was $35 to play.  I asked him if he wanted to play on a team.  He said, "YES".  So each Tuesday he practices with his team and each Saturday, beginning in January (But I didn't write about it because I was talking about ME) he has been playing Basketball with his team.  The Kings.  The Kings have won two games and lost two games so far.  He has four more Saturday's to play.  Spencer is not an aggressive player, he's not an aggressive person, but he enjoys playing and he is having a good experience learning to play on a team.  He wants to try out for 9th grade basketball next year and I am encouraging him to do so.  Eric is along for the ride as much as possible, we just informed him on Saturday that you can not make 10 points when you make a basket.  So Spencer is enjoying this sport and I'm thankful he has a great coach, who is great with all the kids on the team. 

GO SPENCER!

GO KINGS!

RA RA REE!!!

Spencer is #15

Final score was 52 to 30...KINGS WERE THE BIG WINNERS!

First haircut!

Neal is almost 2 and he received his first haircut a little over a week ago.  Here are a few shots, sorry, I'm not the best at taking pictures these days!

He was so good!

His first outing after the curls were cut off...his brother's basketball game!

Goodbye January...

The last night of January.  The month has gone by so quickly.  I did spend some time talking about me and tomorrow I'll go back to commenting about me sometimes, but sharing things about my family and friends and other things that might come to my mind.

*Neal and Jan last year when Neal turned one!

I am excited to be heading in to February.  I love the month of February.  I love Valentines day, mostly because I love hearts and I love chocolate.  I love that Neal was born in February.  I have a niece, Miranda, who has a birthday in February.  My brother in law, Chad, and my sister in law, Carol, each have birthdays in February.  Lisa was born in February, Ray was born in February and I  was born in February.  Eric's mother was born in February...ALOTOF birthdays to celebrate! My brother, Robert, and his wife, Carol, have their anniversary in February.  Jan, my wonderful next door neighbor has her birthday on the same day as Neal.  

The month of February represents love to me and life, because of Valentines and all the birthdays..especially mine.  I like it better when there are 29 days in it, but I will accept and have learned to enjoy celebrating my birthday on the 28th, I get to share that day with Lisa, one of my favorite people in the UNIVERSE!

Okay, so I'm saying goodbye to January, it was fun to talk about me...just a little bit.  I will head in to February thinking about my little almost 2 year old miracle baby, wearing RED as much as I can, what to do for Eric for Valentines Day, saying "I love you" to all the people I do love more often, getting valentine cards for Camilla to give out to her classmates and friends, sending birthday cards or e-cards to my loved ones who's birthdays are coming up, and remembering that Spencer still needs a valentine, even though he acts like he's too cool for one.  I will undoubtedly remember all the boys I've ever loved before, because I seem to do that around Valentine's day.

I'm hoping for a BIG PARTY on my birthday and when I open my present I'm sure it will be a TICKET to a Rick Springfield concert!  I also keep hoping to go down on the scales and not up!  I hope February will be full of lots of HAPPINESSSSSSSSSS for everyone. 

Goodbye January 2010....HULLOOOOO FEBRUARY THE MONTH OF LOVE.  If I give you a kiss this month, don't get any funny ideas, I just do that in February...it happens!

Mindless Munchies

M&M's they get to me. I don't remember the first time I ever tried an m&m, but I do remember hearing about how they "melt in your mouth and not in your hands" at a fairly young age. However, I don't think I appreciated m&m's until I was older, much older. Infact, just today I realized as I walked through the store, I was stopped in my tracks by the valentine display of candy, and I looked for the red, pink and white m&m's that come out at this time of the year. I do believe that the RED m&m's taste the very best, my personal preference. Each holiday m&m's comes out with wonderfully colored m&m's just for that holiday that I just have to have for my candy dish. I love red, so I caved and bought one bag for my candy dish. I could not find the peanut m&m's in the red, pink and white, so I had to settle for the plain chocolate m&m's. I also bought a bag of regular colored peanut m&m's. Just because. I did it mindlessly.

That's what I figured out today, I bought them mindlessly and I eat them mindlessly. M&M's stand for Mindless Munchies. It's hard to mindlessly eat a Snickers bar, I mean I like them just as much as I like M&M's, but I have to think about buying them..they don't really go in to a candy dish, unless it's the small bite sized Snickers, which I would just rather not bother with. A full size Snicker's bar takes some thought. I have to purchase it just for myself, because no one else in my household really cares for them, then I have to take the time to peel back the wrapper and take time to chew each bite of carmel, peanuty goodness. So every now and then I allow myself that pleasure. M&M's,on the other hand, are bought for the candy dish. My hand, as well as others, dip in to it. So I'm doing something selfless for my family and friends who might come by and want to dip their hand in to the candy dish.

Prepare for ranting...The problem is that I am here all day long dipping mindlessly in to the candy dish or if there is not room in the candy dish, a plastic container...WHO CARES, I just dip in and then I pop them in my mouth,and my mind is numb to what I'm doing until all of a sudden my stomach YELLS OUT, "NO MORE YOU LUNATIC, I'M GOING TO BE SICK!!!"

I'm a little calmer now...At Weight Watchers last night we talked a bit about changing behaviors that cause us to be unsuccessful in our goals to lose weight. It all makes so much sense to me. It's just putting all that great information in to daily practice that I seem to be struggling with. So today I am owning up to the fact that I eat some foods mindlessly, without any thought. Just because. I LIKE IT, or I'M NOT DOING ANYTHING ELSE, or whatever other 100 reasons I might have for just tossing an m&m in to my mouth. What am I going to do to change that. I'm not sure yet. I don't think I'm ready to say I won't ever buy m&m's again. I suppose I just took the first step by taking time to STOP, PAY ATTENTION, WRITE IT DOWN and take a time out from mindlessly popping them in to my mouth...it is hard to pop and type at the same time.

Tell me, how do you set a goal and tackle it, I mean a real life changing goal? How do I make myself stick to what I want to do, but have never been able to do..at least not for any extended length of time. I've got to figure this one out because I can't keep doing what I've been doing for 45 years..it's not working.

The next thing I just need to throw in to this post is that the other day Camilla dressed in red and wore her red sequined shoes that I got her for her halloween costume. She was a bit unsure of wearing them to school, but I convinced her that they looked cute and it's okay to wear those kind of shoes when you are 8 years old. So I took her picture and she liked how it looked too. I just have to post it.

Just Dance

Last week at Weight Watchers, yes I just admitted that I go to Weight Watchers...I finally said it on my BLOG!  Anyway, our group leader suggested that we put more movement in to our days, meaning exercise.  She had people give idea of how to add exercise in to their routines, especially people who do not like to exercise..which is the majority at a place like Weight Watchers.  The suggestion that stuck with me all week was to JUST DANCE.  That totally is something that I can do and love to do.  So as the week moved on I added more dance music to my playlist and when I was cleaning or hanging out somewhere around my computer I would turn up the music and just dance.  Sometimes I had a little partner...NEAL.  He is a very sassy dancer I must say.

Today I thought of how much I have enjoyed dancing over the years.  I remember turning 14, the official public dancing age of the LDS church, and being able to go to dances.  School dances and stake dances.  I remember standing on the side lines or sitting in a chair, which was so much worse, because in a chair you can not even pretend like you are dancing, and WAITING endlessly for some boy to ask me to dance.  I remember being a college student and loving to dance and dancing a bit more than I did  at high school or younger.  Still I never danced as much as I really wanted to, at least not in public.  I went to dances from the time I was 14 until I got married at the age of 30.  Then public dancing more or less ceased to exist.  Eric and I did make it to a few wedding receptions that had dancing and one valentine party, I believe that's what it was, that had dancing.

Anyway, today I thought of the time I finally decided I wanted to dance whether I had a partner or not, so I paid to take dancing lessons.  Country dance lessons to be exact.  I paid $500 for them.  I had SO MUCH FUN for about 5 weeks or so, then Eric asked me to marry him, I was elated.  So I added him to the dance lessons, so we could learn a few dances for our wedding reception..that is another story.  I remember how much fun I had just dancing with my instructor..he was really good and I loved being lead around the dance floor by him.  Some day I want to take dance lessons again and be led around the dance floor.  I also just love to turn on music and DANCE, no matter what it might look like. 

There are a few men I would love to JUST DANCE with...

1.. JOHN TRAVOLTA
2..DONNY OSMOND
3..LANCE MALONE
4..KEITH URBAN

AND LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST....RICK SPRINGFIELD!!!

But for now I am enjoying my new dance partner ...MR NEAL KERN!!!