a fun visit

We were so excited to have a visit from some friends we made when we lived in Provo, but haven't seen in years. Sarah and Jason and their three kids came by on their way home from a family vacation. They have twin boys that are two years older than ours and it was fun to get all the twins together. I have to say that Sarah was an inspiration to me when my boys were tiny and taking care of them was hard. More than once I asked her advice, knowing how well she was raising her twin boys. I almost gave up nursing my boys at one point because it was too painful, but I remembered that Sarah had nursed her twins for a full year, and I was inspired to to do the same. (And I'm so glad that I did.)
It was fun to talk about having twin boys, and about their new addition, a baby girl. It was so fun to see (and hold) baby Audrey. Our boys had a great time together, and we all decided that we are going to have to get together again real soon.

Two sets of twin boys
Me and Sarah
Jason and Baby Audrey. Look at her sweet smile!

great idea, whitney

My friend Whitney posted a great idea on her blog. In light of California's recent ruling to allow same-sex marriages, and the upcoming November ballot measure, Proposition 8, she asked everyone with a blog to post a link to the church's document, "The Divine Institution of Marriage." Her thought was that the more links to this document, the more people can become aware of the negative consequences of allowing same-sex marriage and of the church's stand on marriage, that perhaps we can make a difference in this very important issue.

If we ignore the issue, and continue to allow same-sex marriages, many areas will be affected. Religious universities will have to provide housing for same-sex couples, adoption agencies will have to give equal consideration to same-sex couples, otherwise public religious buildings will have to allow same-sex weddings, and schools (starting with elementary school) will have to teach same-sex relationships as being just as accepted as those between a man and a woman. I don't even want to think about what middle-school sex education curriculum would teach.

I'm not ready to let my boys grow up in such a society. If you feel as strongly as I do, do something. Posting a link to the above document on your blog might be a good start.

pirates

Yesterday was National Talk Like a Pirate Day, so some of the staff in the adjoining office at Bart's clinic dressed as pirates, and wanted the boys to come in and see them. So, I put on their bandannas and drew on some mustaches and joined the party. It was fun for them to get pirate tattoos, pirate treasure, and show everyone their pirate faces and say, "Aaarrg, matey!"

Ever since we knew Bart was eventually going to be a PA, I've dreamt of him working in a clinic where I could bring our kids, get to know the staff while visiting Bart at work. If he worked in a large hospital or in a small clinic, this would not be the case. But, we are really blessed for Bart to have such a great job in such a great environment. It sounds like everyone has fun at work together, and Bart likes working with everyone there.
Check out the hook and parrot that the staff let Ky wear. The green pencil in his hand is his "sword." He wouldn't let us leave the house until he had a pirate sword. When I told him that we didn't have any swords, but that he could just pretend, he said tearfully, "But this isn't a sword, it's just my hand." So, I found some unsharpened pencils and he was as content as could be.
Kade was thrilled about the chocolate pirate treasures!

breaking point

Yesterday I hit a breaking point that I'm sure all mothers hit sometimes. I guess the stress of potty training two boys, which means no fun excursions, combined with not knowing anyone in our new town yet, combined with all the other daily stresses that alone aren't worth mentioning, but added to everything caused my patience to officially run out. I got upset at the boys for silly things that on any other day, I would have hardly noticed. I cried and told them they were making me sad. Then I cried harder when I thought of what a bad mother I was being. Then I cried even harder when, after all of that, it was them that told me to be happy and said I was still their "best bud."
When Bart called from work, he could tell I was having one of those days, so when he came home, he told me to take off for the evening, and go read the new book he brought home for me, The Host. So, I did.
It was great to be out of the house and have some time to myself. After reading for about an hour, I decided to walk around Walmart and look for a few things that I need for the house that I have a hard time shopping for with two toddlers in tow. As I was about to leave, I guess I was still letting my day show on my face, because a sweet, scraggly old man stopped me and said, "Smile. It can't be that bad." And he was right. I said, "Thanks, I needed that," and thought about what he said. Nothing I have to deal with in my life is anything that an hour with a good book won't cure. And right now, the source of my biggest stress is also the source of my greatest joy. So, what do I have to be sad about? Nothing. I just needed some time alone to put that into perspective.
Thanks to Kade and Ky for forgiving me so freely an telling me to be happy.
Thanks to Bart for the new book and understanding I needed an evening to myself.
And thanks to the scraggly old man who helped me to remember how blessed I am.

sprouts!

All of Bart's very, very hard work is paying off! Our lawn is starting to sprout. It's fun to look out at the yard every morning to see it a little bit more green. Hooray for Bart for being dedicated to saving money where possible and planting the lawn by himself. Also, thanks to Bart's dad for helping finish the backyard last Friday, in the mud. We are so excited to have our very first yard!

what we are doing

Of all the hard things that come with having little ones like night feedings, temper tantrums, vomit, runny noses, stains, and getting no sleep, this is the one thing I have been dreading the most from the very beginning, and still am. Please, please wish us luck.

inside

I thought I should post a few "before" pictures of our house. I'm not sure when we will post "after" pictures since we've had to spend all our money on essential, boring things like garbage cans and drawer organizers. Most of the fun things like decorations and pictures will have to wait. We are about 75% unpacked and are really enjoying our new space.

Our living room and doorways into the dining area and hallway
Our kitchen. It's been so much fun to cook and even clean in my new kitchen. Don't worry, we do have a range, it just wasn't in yet when I took this picture.

The view from inside our bedroom. We have several of these plant shelves, and other than some cool lighting, we aren't sure what we are going to do with them, but we really like them.

The one space that I have decorated the way I like it: my dining table. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do for window treatments over the sliding glass door (any suggestions would be appreciated), but I'm really loving the table, linens and dishes!