We are home!!!

Home sweet home. Such words have never been more true. We have our angel Taylor home. My sister-in-law called last night and asked me how it was to have a "miracle child". I thought about that throught the night. Truly, this whole ordeal has been a miracle. Such a testimony builder through and through. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers. I had two doctors stop me in the ICU and tell me they had never seen a kid with more determination to get better and it shows. They also said they had no explanation how, as serious as she was injured, that she was progressing so fast. We know though, the prayers of hundreds of voices were heard. Taylor still has a long way to go, 3 weeks of no school, then only 2 hours a day for 2 weeks after that. Also, nothing but walking until after Halloween. We had to cancel Disneyland, but we will go later in the year and it gives Tay a goal to work towards. Thanks again for checking on us and praying for Taylor. Prayers are heard and answered in these latter days, the Lord loves us and does his best to help us all in each situation we face.

Oh my...Can you believe it? I am back baby!

Well, I guess I took a summer vacation along with the kids :) Natasha told me I was fired from blogging, but she never actually gave me my "pink slip" so until then, I suppose I will stay on the payroll! I pretty much killed my night (from 10pm when everyone else goes to sleep on...) updating my page. I decided I am welcoming fall with open arms. The truth is, while I was sick, my flower beds became overrun with weeds, my potted flowers died from lack of hydration and the laundry became and insurmountable pile from the kids changing 10 times a day. So moral of the story: I can wait to rip everything (weeds AND flowers) out of my flowerbeds, throw all my pots in the trash and pull out the levi's and 3/4 length shirts in an effort to avoid the exisiting piles of dirty tanktops, shorts and swimsuits. Ahhh, I just love it when the season changes.

So, Drew said the funniest thing (well funny only through the magic gift of hindsight) that I cannot pass up retelling. We took all of our Young Women group to Young Living this week. The first thing we did there, was to go on a wagon ride through the fields and park. Well, Drew ran right to the front of the wagon to get as close as she could to the drivers (there were two of them) and the horses. Her friend, Maddi Webster and myself were all seated together at the front and across from us were several of my young women. Ok, here is the story:

Garrett and Darrel (the driver and tour guides): "off to the right you will see some Wolfberry bushes"
Mandi: "Oh, when I was sick a couple of weeks ago, my dad brought my some juice with Wolfberry in it. I really enjoyed it and think it worked good."
Drew: "Yeah, it worked so good she didn't stop FARTING the whole day after she took it"

YES MY DARLING CHILD SAID THAT TO TWO COMPLETE STRANGE MEN AND SEVERAL OF MY YOUNG WOMEN!!!!! TO MAKE IT WORSE, IT WAS A TOTAL FABRICATED LIE!!!!

I was telling Ryan about the whole ordeal when we got home and he asked Drew why she would say something like that, especially when it was a untrue.
Drew's answer (picture instantaneous mischevious grin and shoulder shrug): "Well, I don't know why I said it, I guess because I thought it would be funny-and it was!"

I am thinking military school might be a good option.....?

-Mandi

Another one down.....

Well, we now officially have a second child graduated from Kindergarten. It seems lately that I have been mentally checking these small milestones off of my children's "to-do lists". Just the other night Nolan finally learned how to "pump" himself on a swing. Lean back, legs-out while swinging forward. Lean forward, legs-back while swinging backwards. Simple to those of us who have passed this milestone of life, but a big deal when you are three and a half and suddenly understand how it works.

Drew was so excited to graduate. She kept letting out her "night-before-Christmas" squeals for the last 24 hours. She could not wait to perform her practiced skit for us tonight. We were so proud of her. It has been a hectic last two weeks: 4 ball games, 4 ball practices, a tumbling review, a dance review, a violin recital and Kindergarten Graduation.

So much to go through, but so worth it. Seeing the kids grow and progress is what life is all about..I used to wonder if we would ever get through some milestones, but quit paying attention for a bit and there you are....3 kids growing up right under your nose and you not realizing how fast it is happening....how time flies. Sleep through the night: check, check, check. learn to crawl:check, check, check. Break the bottle/binki habit: check, check, check. Learn to walk:check, check, check. Potty train:check, check, check. Learn to dress yourself (nobody said anything about matching...just the basic shirt on the top, pants on the bottom, socks on the feet routine):check, check, check. Learn to ride a bike:check, check, check. Learn to pump yourself on a swing (giving mom/dad/whoever else is around a newfound freemdom from endless underdogs):check, check, check. Learn to wash your own hair and lotion yourself upon exiting the bathroom swimming pool:check, check, check. Enter the new world of preschool, where mom/dad aren't always by your side:check, check, check. Graduate from Kindergarten into the world of school lunch and all-day school:check, check..................yes we are on our way.

It's getting late and I am getting nothing done...

Well, I told Ryan I was going to stay up and fold a batch of laundry but here I am plunked down at the computer. So, I might as well post something... What is going through my mind at the moment is how my whole life I have hated journals and now I am most addicted to doing the very thing I have fought against my whole life. Growing up is an odd thing-one day you hate tomatoes, the next you can't get enough of them. One day you hate napping and all that it implies, the next you are counting down the days until your Sunday nap. One day you are thin, the next you are overweight and can't get it off. One day the thought of ever writing in a journal makes you want to pull your hair out, then next you are wondering what you can "blog" about. A big thank-you hug to Natasha for being brave enough to teach an old dog new tricks. T&YW-Mandi

Random thoughts on a Sunday afternoon

Isn't it amazing how much better a nap is when taken on a Sunday afternoon, than any other day of the week. Maybe it is because your spiritual cup is full (as well as your belly from Sunday dinner) and you are just extra content with life. Curling up on a soft bedspread with a cozy blanket and taking a power-nap... there is nothing quite like it to even compare to!

We went to dinner this weekend with some friends, and since we didn't get dessert at dinner, we decided to stop at ColdStone Creamery in Spanish Fork. As we walked in, Natasha said the funniest thing, "Doesn't it smell like the Celestial Kingdom in here?" When I paused for a moment to ponder the thought, I must admit, if I had to assign the Celestial Kingdom a "smell" ColdStone Creamery would probably fit the bill. So, during my drive to my drive to Salina and back today...I had time to think about what other senses I would assign to the Celestial Kingdom. The only definite sense I have at the moment, is the sound in my Celestial Kingdom. It would be a calm summer night.....there is an alfalfa field with several grazing horses. The only sound other than the crickets and the soft chik-chik of a sprinkler slowly watering the field, is the content horses grazing and occasionally sighing. I have told Ryan many times throughout our career as a married couple how much I truly love this sound.

Now, if my Celestial Kingdom sounds could be rotated like those new, fancy air fresheners that change the scents every half-an-hour, I would also like to add to my selection, the sound of my children laughing with the kind of abandon that only a child is capable of. A full-on, straight from the heart and belly laugh-not a care in the world, just savoring the moment.

Yep, Sunday afternoons beat most anything.....

mother of the year....not me

So, I totally forgot to pick up Drew for school today.....what makes it even worse is that I had to pay for the time she was at daycare while I was being braindead! Drew didn't mind so much though, seems she conveniently forgot to ask the ladies to call and remind me I had forgotten to pick her up for school. When I did finally make it to retrieve her and Nolan, she asked if I could please forget her tomorrow too. You never know, it just might happen.......
We are supposed to be going on this big horse-ride over in Wellington this weekend. I was totally thinking I was going to boycott the ride for personal distaste of cold-temperature and wind related reasons, but whatdoyaknow? The weatherman was correct for once and I think it really is going to warm up and be nice weather for the ride. Sunburn and sore-butt.....here I come!!!

who knew?

I have to admit something..... I always thought I was an o.k. singer until last weekend. As Ryan and I sang along at our home during conference, we both realized (at the same time) just how bad we sounded. We stopped singing and laughed about it, then tried again with the same results - we are horrible singers!!!! We finally just had to quit singing because we were laughing so hard at ourselves we could not finish the song. How did we not know how bad we were before now? Why hasn't anyone told us? Good grief, I am still cringing as I remember the awful sound we were trying to pass off as "singing".... uck. Speaking of conference, a line from one of the talks keeps echoing in my mind... "the time your children spend with you constitutes only 1/4th of your life. Use your time with them wisely." Wow! That really puts things into perspective. How precious time is - use it wisely. Here are some pictures of Drew and Nolan with their new bikes. A little past the fact, but I have been behind... better late than never. Also, Drew had "Wacky Wednesday" today. There is also a pic of her wacky-outfit in all its glory. Oh yeah, one last thing... did you know that there is a special walk that makes others think you are "popular"? Yep, Drew filled me in on that one today. I got the low-down on how it works and a nice demonstration of how to do it. Ask her next time you see her..... that is, if you want to be popular ;)