Quick pics

My adorable girls. Robyn is now almost 14 months old, and Julie will be five in April. I love these dresses they wore to church today. Thanks, Mom! 

Tender mercies

"But behold, I...will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith..." (1 Nephi 1:20)

I have been the beneficiary of this promise today.

Over the last couple of weeks, I've had one friend who had a miscarriage and another who is anxiously awaiting the birth of her fourth child. Both have had a hard time with their particular trials. The first was understandably depressed for a time, and missing her mom. She had told me that she needed a hug in a bad way. That evening I had my regular Tuesday night Young Women activity. My sister was in town visiting, so I didn't have to worry about rushing to pick Julie up from the babysitter afterward, and I had a feeling that I should go visit this friend on my way home. It was a small gesture and required hardly any effort on my part, but it made a big difference to my friend that I stopped by, unplanned, solely for the sake of giving her a hug. We talked for a few minutes and then I headed home.

The second friend has had a really rough pregnancy and is now overdue. She's been in labor -- pretty uncomfortably so -- for a couple of weeks, and her doctor won't do anything for her (other than be a ginormous jerk). Basically she's miserable right now. A week and a half ago I made some amazing brownies, that I'd been thinking about. Julie didn't like them (they weren't standard fare), and they're too rich for Ben and I to eat a whole pan of by ourselves. In trying to figure out how to get rid of some of them, this friend popped into my head. At 8:00 at night I called her to see if I could come over to bring her some. I did, and we ended up chatting for about an hour an a half, which was fun for me, and apparently needed for her. It started because I just wanted to unload some brownies.

I don't mean to sound like I'm totally awesome for doing either of these things, but it's been an interesting experience for me. In both cases, I felt definitely prompted to help these friends. In neither case did it cost me a lot of effort or inconvenience. In both cases I felt like I was helping these friends in small ways, yet I knew that they were significant to them. I've been reminded through these experiences of giving small service that our Heavenly Father is mindful of us -- each of us. What is important to us is important to Him. Our sorrows are His, and if He can ease those through another person, He often does. Usually a reminder of this comes when I myself am the recipient of services, not the giver.

Yesterday was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Robyn has reached an age where she likes to be held (or paid direct attention to) about 12 hours a day (she's asleep the other 12). It's exhausting. Yesterday she was "off" for a different reason (which reason I don't know). She didn't eat very well. She took only two naps, each of which were less than 30 minutes long. She wouldn't stop crying. By 1:45, I was so done with my day. I told Ben as much, though he was at work still. He said he'd be home as quickly as he could be. By 4:45 I was counting down the minutes until he would be. By 5:00, I had to put Robyn down in her bouncy chair, strap her in, and walk away. She wouldn't stop crying, and I was honestly afraid I might shake her. (I hesitate to write that "out loud" but I know I'm not the only one, and I want others to know they're not alone.) Intending to take a shower, I went down to the laundry room to get some clean clothes to put on afterward. Instead I sank down on the floor in front of the washing machine and just sobbed. I stayed there for awhile; the laundry room is the only place in the house where I couldn't hear Robyn's cries still. I wanted my mommy.

Julie heard me and came to see what was wrong. Feeling bad about leaving Robyn alone (aside from this stage she's in, she's naturally very social and doesn't like to be left alone at all), I asked her to go upstairs and stay with her sister. I continued to cry for 10-15 minutes. I finally pulled myself together a little bit and went back upstairs, where I found Julie sitting on the floor, bouncing Robyn in the chair, and singing to her. Robyn had stopped crying. I was so touched by the scene that tears sprang to my eyes again. I picked Robyn up and began to pace with her. Not two minutes later, Ben pulled in the driveway and relieved me. I got my shower, during which time he made dinner and tended to both girls. I needed to make a quick grocery run that night to pick a few things up for teaching school today, so I took Julie with me and got some ice cream as well.

Late last night, I read a blog post that greatly comforted me. I felt like the timing of the article was precise to when I needed it most, though it may also have been coincidence.

This morning, I woke up to find that Ben had gotten me a panini press for Valentine's Day. I had wanted one for Christmas, but it wasn't in the cards this year. We usually don't do anything more than heart-shaped pizzas for Valentine's Day, so this was a big surprise. He got a donut-maker for Julie (and Robyn), which will be fun. He also wrote a mushy and sentimental note with the gifts.

A friend sent me a nerdy and punny Valentine's Day e-card, which was thoughtful.

An hour or so ago, the doorbell rang. We ordered something online last week, so I figured it was that package. Imagine my surprise when I found a box full of beautiful tulips from my dad.

Our individual importance has been on my mind the last couple of weeks, because I have been a part of making sure others know it. Today I have been blessed by others doing the same thing for me when I have needed the comfort and personal reminder. I'm a lucky girl.

Thankful November: Day 30

Today is my last Thankful November post. It's helped me pay attention to little things that I might not otherwise acknowledge. Today, I hope at the end of the day to be able to say that I'm thankful to have only spent six hours of drive time to get home instead of the ten hours it took to get to Brian and Darcy's house.

Thankful November: Day 29

Today I am thankful for Mexican food. We went to a great little Mexican restaurant near Brian and Darcy's house that is really yummy, and pretty authentic. It was great, and fun too! I'll show pictures later, with a story.

Thankful November: Day 28

Today I am thankful for Black Friday. I did not get up at an insane hour of the morning to go fight the crowds, but only because Julie would have objected to being left behind, and I objected to bringing her along. However, I found a really great deal on something I've been looking for for Ben. I've been checking prices on this item every time I've seen one, or every time I see an ad for it, for about six months. The cheapest I've been able to find it is around $60. I wasn't specifically looking for it for Christmas, but I found an ad that showed it for $30!!! I was really excited, and my mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and Erin will be going out, and they said they'd get it for me. Yay for good deals!

(Isn't this the second or third 'good deals' post I've done this month? This one is specifically Black Friday good deals.)

Thankful November: Day 27

I've saved the big one for today. The obvious one. The first one most people think of when asked what they're thankful for.

Today I am thankful for family. I'm thankful for my three families. I am thankful for my immediate family, and I've already highlighted Ben and Julie separately this month. I am also thankful for my own family -- my parents and siblings. I am thankful, too, for Ben's family -- his parents, siblings, and their families.

Today I am spending Thanksgiving with Ben's family. His brother is shipping off to Afghanistan on Monday, and this is the last opportunity we'll all have to be together for 15 months or so. We haven't seen him and his family since last Christmas. Our good friends Dave and Erin also came down to spend the holiday with all of us. Now that the day is winding down, I will add that I am grateful for good friends and good fun.

I am thankful also for my own family, my parents and brother and sister. It's been almost a year and a half since I've seen my sister, and she's never met Julie. We'll be heading there for Christmas. It will be lots of fun.

I hope you all have (or have had) a wonderful Thanksgiving day.

Thankful November: Day 26

Today is a travel day. We are on the road to Ben's parents' house in Indiana. I am thankful for cars. I'm thankful for modern roads, and the ability to travel to be able to spend holidays with family. I'm thankful that this is something that is a possibility for us.

Thankful November: Day 25

Today I am thankful for disposal diapers. I am very thankful that I don't have to wash the diaper I just took off of Julie. Heck, I'm glad that no one else has to either. See, Julie didn't poop all day Sunday or yesterday, and just now was definitely her lifetime poopiest diaper. So I'm really glad I don't have to wash it.

She's really happy now, though.

Thankful November: Day 24

Today, as I do massive amounts of laundry, I'm thankful for a washing machine and a dryer. I'm thankful I don't have to use a washboard and a clothesline.

Thankful November: Day 23

Today I am thankful for Christmas music. Wahoo! I get to listen to it now! I start listening on my birthday, or Thanksgiving, whichever comes first. Actually, I think my birthday is the earliest that Thanksgiving can ever be. But I'm listening to Christmas music now, and unless you hit the "pause" button above, so are you!

Thankful November: Day 22

Today I am thankful for birthdays. This is a silly one. Today is my birthday! Yay me! I was going to have some friends over for dinner and games tonight, but I had to cancel because I'm sick. So I'm sad. Ben's taking me out to dinner tonight instead, so we can get everyone at the restaurant sick.

Thankful November: Day 21

Today I am thankful for antibiotics. Yay for Zithromax!!

Thankful November: Day 20

Okay, so I've really fallen behind this week. I've not had the energy to think of anything to post for my Thankful November series, nor my Wishful Wednesdays or Friday Features. I apologize. I should hopefully be back on track next week.

Today (even though I'm actually writing this two days later now), I'm thankful for libraries. I went to the library this week (Monday? Tuesday? I can't remember now) and picked up a few books to read. I haven't read anything in a few months, partly because I've been on burnout of my books here at home. But I'm reading again. Yay!

Thankful November: Day 19

Today I am thankful for Mentholatum. Yep, that's right. Mentholatum. You know, this stuff:


This is great stuff. When I was younger, I used to get pretty severe allergic reactions to mosquito bites when I went camping. Nothing could soothe the itching and the redness and swelling, until we discovered this when I was 12 or 13. It's the only thing that's ever helped me. I currently have a cold (still), and by rubbing this under my nose at night, I can fall asleep breathing through my nose instead of my mouth. It totally opens up the sinuses. It's great stuff.

Thankful November: Day 18

I did it again. I didn't post this yesterday. I'm backdating again.

"Today" I am thankful for the little things.

I'm thankful for a little bit of snow, that makes it feel like hot chocolate and Christmas music weather, without making me wish for May already.
I'm thankful for little rocks in normal colors (instead of bright pink) that make my newly cleaned fish tank look much nicer than before.
Mostly, I'm thankful for this little thing:

Thankful November: Day 17

Whoops! I forgot to post this yesterday. I'll backdate it so it looks like it's on the right day.

"Today" I am thankful for modern medicine. I've been having an issue for about 6 weeks or so, and finally saw my doctor for it last week. He prescribed something that is supposed to treat what I don't think the problem is, but I'll give it a try. We'll see. In any case, I'm very thankful for modern medicine.

Thankful November: Day 16

Today I am thankful for music. I like a good variety of music, and I enjoy listening to it. At church, I am in charge of selecting the hymns to sing each week, and conducting the music as well. Music evokes emotion and memories of many things. But mostly I just like having music on during the day, whether it's the radio, a CD, or a playlist on the computer. It keeps me company, and it's just fun.

Thankful November: Day 15

Today I am thankful for the Boy Scouting program. Even though it takes Ben away from home one weekend a month (this weekend), I'm thankful for it. Ben loves working with the Scouts, and really enjoys being part of the program. It enriches his life and gives him outside fulfillment and enjoyment that people need besides their family.

Thankful November: Day 14

Today I am thankful for my beautiful daughter Julie. She is a joy to me, and I can't help but smile when I'm around her. Yes, she cries and fusses, but most of the time she's a very happy easy-going girl. This morning I heard her say "mama" twice, but I can't believe that it's on purpose yet (as much as I might like to). I have noticed in the last few days that she is combining her vowel and consonant sounds now, which is good. This morning is the first time I've noticed polysyllabic sounds, though.

Her smile can cheer me up and melt my heart. I love her so much, and I am so thankful to have her in my life.

Thankful November: Day 13

Today I am thankful for the self-checkout line at the grocery store. I'm faster if I can scan everything through myself, plus I like to keep all the produce together, all the dairy/frozen stuff together, all the canned goods together, boxed items together, non-food items together, etc. For some reason, grocery store employees in Ohio won't leave stuff grouped in the order I put it in. And they're terrible baggers here. I went to Target here once, just before New Year's last year, and purchased the following items:

• 1 bottle of sparkling peach flavored soda
• 1 bottle of sparkling pear flavored soda
• a purse
• one other item (I don't remember what it was)

For these four items, I was given five bags. Yes, five. Each bottle was wrapped in a bag and then placed in its own bag. The other two items were bagged together. Before leaving the register, I took the wrapped bottles out of their outside bags and placed them in the other bag, so that I only had one thing to carry.

Yes, I am thankful for the self-checkout lane.