I Forgot to Add ...

Matt found his wallet ... the day after he called to get a new debit card ... so they cancelled both of our cards to issue us new ones, so for the time being we have to walk around with cash everywhere until we get our new cards

I love Walmart's Hot and Fresh French Bread .... yummm

The season finale of Biggest Loser ... I thought Terra deserved to win more but I'm happy for Helen - and Jerry! It was a crazy!

I always remember things when I'm not actually sitting down and writing my blog ... there was so much more I was going to add to this post!

Happy Birthday Kyle! (my nephew)

My pretty lilies are dying and I don't know why or how to make them come back to life ... suggestions?

P.S. to anyone who may be near Brigham City Friday night - Matt is giving a fireside up there for his bro's ward at 7 ... I can give you more info to anyone that is interested

I love the nice sunny weather :) It finally feels like spring/summer

Anybody want a king mattress?

Matt's new dream/fantasy is for us to move to Hawaii and live in a shack (he built) and live off of the garden we would grow in our backyard ... on the beach

Nutshell

So you would think we would have more time on our hands now that school is over and all we do is work ... WRONG! We have a list of things to do about a mile high and seem to hardly have the time like I thought we would have ... figures. So rather than doing individual posts on everything like I had planned ... pics will come though, here's another one-liner update since the last one.

Starting with last last Friday (the 1st):

Women's Conference - Good job Christy

Spent the night on the trampoline on our air mattress in our new tent ... plugged Matt's computer into an extension cord and watched Harry Potter (This one finished our marathon ... all 5 Harry Potter's in 2 weeks I think)

Got poured on in the middle of the night ... we discovered the door to the tent doesn't quite seal ... thank goodness for the air mattress ... oh wait - it deflated 3 hours into the night

(Sat) Began painting our table and chairs ... 2-toned: the top is dark red and the rest black ... watched 50 First Dates in the process

Notice the word began ... it's still not finished - the table is done but the chairs aren't ... our kitchen is a mess

(Sun) Off to Brigham City at bright and early 6 a.m. to make it to little Sawyer's baby blessing (our new nephew) ... such a cute baby

Good food and conversations at Seth and Tiffany's

And drive back home ... stop by my fam on the way for another dinner

(Mon) Work, work, hospital, work

Matt got 4 stitches just above his right eye

Description: Walked into a metal bar. Smart!

Yes this was at work ... his 5th day on the job

A lovely black eye followed

Picnic at the park with Brad and Jessie

Making fun of all the singles wards and the awkwardness of FHE activities

And here comes the fashionably late man in a blazer strutting his stuff ... "I thought we were playing soccer" ... yet he still dressed up to come to FHE ... the pro - volleyball player and his stance of a lifetime

Our Winnie - the - Pooh kite that won't inflate

The boomerang that doesn't come back to you ... odd

(Tues) The Biggest Loser ... we're addicted

Along with Law and Order ... I love a good mystery

(Wed) Uhhhhhhh ... it's only the middle of the week

(Thurs) Babysat for Wendy (Matt's sis)

Hotel for Dogs

Henry: "I need 2 pieces, 1 big one and 1 little one ... but Calvin's starving" "Awesome!!!!"

Matt autographed Emma's friend's hat

(Fri) Matt got his stitches out

Christy became the bionic woman ... Good luck with your personal ipod!

Making a bajillion tissue paper flowers for the ward activity (we're on the activities committee p.s.)

Thanks Brad and Jessie for helping!

Clue

Professor Plum, Hall, knife

(Sat) Garden Party ward activity ... suprisingly good turnout and good food

Rearranging furniture ... almost ... = our apt. is a pig stye! blah

Home Depot ... time to transplant our garden!

Golfing with my Dad, Bobby, and Tanner ... Thanks Dad for inviting us!

My little brothers are better than me! boo

How many balls did I lose?

Almost had a bonfire ... saw long lost friends and old roomies

(Sun) You already know the story of our morning

It got better after that post and we went to my parent's house

We named our new little plants: Barry and Boston Basil, Olive and Oscar Oregano, Cindy and Ceilia Cilantro, Parvati and Peter Parsley, Darcy and Diana Daisies

This way we'll get emotionally attached to them and feel bad if we kill them

Home Videos - Matt didn't know it could be so funny watching someone else's home videos ... Bobzilla, a cool dad for Jimmy's Birthday, This is Uranus (the planet), Michael dressed up as a girl for Halloween

Jib Jab

A backrub was my Mother's Day present

(Today) Back to work, work, work

I got asked at least 3 times how my mother's day was .... um ... I lied

Matt discovered that you do actually have to boil the water in order for jell-o to become jell-o

Matt made dinner ... I do cook ... sometimes

The brownies Matt made yesterday afternoon were gone this morning

My Guardian Angel

Happy Mother's Day! Today is not the easiest day of the year for me. You would think that over time it would get easier, but I've found it's quite the opposite. This year marks 10. I wish I had a memory keeper like Dumbledore on Harry Potter, and I could keep all my memories of my childhood with my mom with every detail and feeling and thought intact. My memories wouldn't fade and she would be as vivid as the day before she went to the hospital.

I've never been a fan of going to church on Mother's Day ... it just makes it harder. Trying to hold back the stream of tears building up as kids and adults speak about moms and how much they love them ... and then the weird looks from people because I should be smiling and enjoying the talks ... not about to bawl my eyes out. I still go because I know I should and because it is probably a good thing to be reminded every once and awhile. I usually try not to think too much about my mom because I'll be pouring tears for who knows how long and I typically don't enjoy crying all that much.

I think the whole month of May is kinda hard for me. I guess it's kinda like my sister, Heather, and her blog entry about being extra emotional in May ... I'm kinda the same way. I think about my mom more and in turn I'm more emotional, thoughtful, sad, you name it. My emotions tend to be more of a rollercoaster this month than what my typical moods consist of.

But I was reminded yesterday and today of how grateful I am for my guardian angel. I know she still watches over me, protects, does all that mom stuff from the other side of the veil. It's like another person close to me, guiding me, besides the Holy Ghost and Heavenly Father. I had a special experience a couple years ago on Heritage Tours (church history tour) when I was in the Sacred Grove and felt the distinct difference of love from the spirit of my mom and Heavenly Father's. Prior to that experience, I had often wondered if what I was feeling was the spirit or my mom. Now I know. And I have been blessed ever since to sense and feel when my mom is present with me because of her unique spirit ... probably not always ... but when the Lord feels necessary that I feel my mom watching over me. It is a blessing more than anything. I have her with me at times and places where if she were alive she wouldn't be present. It's also a comfort on days like these when I want her to be able to see her and give her a hug more than anything.

It's still hard for me to think that our kids won't remember their grandmother or see her when they are here on this earth. I know they are playing with her in heaven now and they are soaking up her personality and quirks ... for which I am so grateful for. Part of me doesn't want to take them away from her - I want them to keep spending time with her so when they come to us they'll all be little replicas of her. I know, I know, that's me being selfish. I wish they would be able to remember that time they are spending with her right now ... I'll be able to see my mom's influence with them but they won't know because they will have forgotten about her when they come through the veil. I still wish Matt could spend a day with my mom ... he reminded me today that he does know her, because he knows me. I can only hope that I am being the daughter she sought for me to become and that I am passing on her story in the way she would have it told.

I was also reminded this week that she is with her mom. My mom gets to spend Mother's Day with her mom. She had to spend a number of years here on Earth without her mom. Now she gets to play with her mom and joke around just like they used to. I can't be selfish in wanting her down here with me when she is the happiest she can be with her mom and dad and family up there. I'm sure she is up there saying, "Don't cry, I'm happy, and you should be too ... I'm still your mom and I will always be here for you."

I have been blessed with 4 moms in my life up to this point. 1 - My mom. 2 - My dad: He was my mom and dad for 3 years after she passed. He was the motherly figure for me as well as my daddy. 3 - Christy: my step-mom. She took me in and we have bonded to become good friends. 4 - Becky: my mother-in-law. She accepted me from day one. And she has brought great insight into my life. Happy Mother's Day to all 4! I am blessed with 4 perspectives on motherhood and everything it entails. From homemade potstickers, pesto pasta, and experimental cooking to Costco frozen dinners and waffle breakfasts to hearty meat and potatoes and orange julius and popcorn to cheese toast and Maddox. Thank you to all of them. They have each influenced me in a different way and guided me to see my life a broader view. I have a little bit of all of them mixed into the way Matt and I live our lives. I am blessed to see and be a part of these different lifestyles and learn from the ways I have been taught.

And thank you to my husband, Matt. For his understanding and patience with me. For holding me while I cried into his shirt for forever after we got home from church. For being sensitive to the subject and always saying the perfect thing to me. For making brownies.