Thursday, November 3, 2011

A Transformer, A Superhero, and a Space Ranger

Happy Halloween! Megatron
Thor
Buzz Lightyear




MP Photography

Thanks, Danelle, for the great pictures!

One of the best things about these pictures is that, for the most part, they are original poses; not much coaching from the sidelines. Especially G. He was totally in character.

We had a super-fun Halloween. Once M got the hang of what exactly was going on with the trick-or-treating, he couldn't wait to get from house to house. It's times like this when living in a townhome community really pays-off.
All was well until the house with the cloaked man who yelled in my face and startled me. After that, instead of, "I want to go to the next house!" from M, it was, "I want to go home! Where's that man?" Even the morning after he asked, "Where's that man who yelled at you?" Thank you, cloaked stranger, for soiling my 2-year old's Halloween.

But, at the end of the night, candy buckets were bursting, children were happy and hyped, and Mom and Dad settled them down for a long fall's nap....then took care of each child's candy tax.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Halloween Prep


After an ill-fated Family Night Activity to pick out pumpkins at a local nursery (got there after it closed and ended up getting pumpkins at Walmart...), we "carved" out some time to transform the pumpkins into Halloween jack-o-lanterns!

All 3 boys were a little squeamish about scooping out the pumpkin guts. These are the same kids who use their clothes as napkins and tissues. And come in from playing outside covered in mud.


Can you make a face like your jack-o-lantern?

Voila! M LOVED seeing them lit up.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Hat Model

This is what you get when you have a friend who's a photographer.


MP Photography

McKay and I go over to play with our friends. Danelle says, "I need to take some pictures of the kids in these hats my friend made for her Etsy shop; can Mack be a model?"
Sure thing!

Friday, October 21, 2011

Random II


Continuing with pictures of our summer in no particular order...
A visit to Utah means a visit to Cougar Country (Provo)!
Eating at Brick Oven


Playing with Grandma's Playmobil/Star Trek collection
One of many daddy/son/cousin/uncle football games
Hanging out at First Dam in Cache Valley, UT. Canoeing, feeding ducks, playing football...it was a lovely time.

Back to Provo

Enjoying popsicles and cousins on G&G's patio
Cousins
First day of school: 1st and 3rd grade

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Random

For the grandparents far away, I present....a smattering of pictures from the summer. In no particular order...
G hesitantly feeding goats, sheep, and a llama.
L feeding same animals, trying to seem like he wants to, but not really getting too close.
M loving same animals eating the feed out of his hand. Who needs a cup?



L climbing the rock wall.
This statue creeped M out and inspired G to imitate.
Mama climbing the rock wall...to the top, no less.
M wondering what this strange thing is in our hotel room. Fascinating!
G's "unloading the dishwasher" art creation.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Each Life That Touches Ours for Good

I've been sitting here typing, deleting, re-typing, pausing...frustrated that I can't express my thoughts and feelings of the past few days since learning of the passing of our dear friend, Wes Truman. I felt a need to put in words the profound influence for good that Wes and his wonderful wife Lori have had on our life. My heart is heavy and full of feelings and thoughts that I can't seem to put it into words. But I need to try.

Each life that touches ours for good
Reflects thin own great mercy, Lord;
Thou sendest blessings from above
Thru words and deeds of those who love.

Almost 9 years ago, Cory and I moved into Deseret Towers (DT), single student on-campus housing at Brigham Young University. I had just been hired as a Hall Advisor which meant I was going to supervise 200+ freshmen (mostly) girls in my building. The job itself was a tremendous blessing as I was expecting Lucas and Cory was going to school. It allowed me to be at home more than not while still bringing in income and providing medical insurance. It soon become evident that the greatest blessings of this job were the people we would be privileged to know, including our dear friends Wes and Lori Truman.

Never has anyone been blessed with such exemplary people as co-workers as I was with my "DT Family". Here are some of us (sorry you weren't there, Marie!) reuniting 3 years ago. Lori is to my right, only weeks away from welcoming their 2nd child (and first son) into the world.
What greater gift dost thou bestow,
What greater goodness can we know
Than Christ-like friends,
whose gentle ways
Strengthen our faith,
enrich our days.

In November 2005, at the age of 24, 6 months after their first child (a daughter) was born and a month shy of their 3-year anniversary, Wes was diagnosed with brain cancer. Wes and Lori faced this life-altering news with courage, faith, and optimism like I have never seen. I'm sure they were terrified and questioning and wondering.....but at that time and throughout Wes's 5-year battle they exemplified true faith in our Savior Jesus Christ. Pure faith.

Theirs is the ultimate love story. Through them I have learned more about charity. Charity in a marriage and charity for others. Sometimes when it seems life is going so well for others but not for ourselves, we tend to begrudge others' successes and happiness. Never, ever did I get that feeling from Wes and Lori. They have climbed mountain after mountain with seemingly no valleys. But, they always found the valleys; the things to be grateful for, the beauty and blessings in their life. Not only that, they truly shared in the joy of others without feeling sorry for themselves. That is a remarkable gift and incredible example for me. To not only stand by people during the hard times, but, perhaps even more difficult, to cheer them on in their good times even while you face the most difficult obstacles anyone can imagine.

Wes and Lori are true testaments of the reality of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Some might say at his passing, as he fought a painful battle with cancer and leaves behind a mourning wife and 2 young children, "How can there be a God? How could a merciful, loving God let such suffering happen?" I answer, "How can there NOT be a God?" It is because I know there is a God and that this life is only a part of the eternal nature of our spirits that I -- and Lori and her kids -- can find peace. And it's not blind faith. Anyone who knew Wes could sense divinity. I want to live my life that way, that through me people can know of the reality of a loving Heavenly Father and Savior.

I've thought about faith as I've thought about the Trumans. We -- along with many other family and friends -- have prayed for Wes. I had no doubt he could be healed. I also knew that it had to be the Lord's will. At times, I've thought, "Is that a cop-out?" Is saying "The Lord's will be done" really just a lack of faith in what He really can do? Or is it just me wanting to believe there is a God, but being able to excuse seemingly "unanswered" prayers? No. Definitely not. I am learning that true faith in Jesus Christ means not just believing in Him, but believing Him. Truly giving our will to His. So while we, and so many others who love Wes, had faith that he could be healed, we also had faith in our Savior's plan for him.

When such a friend from us departs,
We hold forever in our hearts
A sweet and hallowed memory,
Bringing us nearer, Lord, to thee.
("Each Life That Touches Ours for Good", Karen Lynn Davidson text, A. Laurence Lyon music)

We have been brought closer to the Lord through Wes and Lori's life. Our hearts ache for Lori and their kids. May the angels that welcomed Wes home now, joined with Wes, surround you, Lori, Lucy, and Spencer. We love you, Truman Family, and will sorely miss you, Wes. Until we meet again.





(I have treasured this picture for years as it reminds me of true friends. Wes is on the left, then Adam, Eric (other members of that "DT family"), and Lucas. They were putting together a swing set they had given us when we moved from DT into a house.)
For a glimpse into the influence Wes and Lori have had in this world, read this memorial blog.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

For the Grandparents

M loves the Eric Carle/Bill Martin Jr. books (i.e., "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?"). Here he is naming the animals in "Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?" This one is particularly cute because the animals in this book are endangered species, so the names are less common than just naming a duck, cat, etc. There is a panda bear, bald eagle, water buffalo, spider monkey, green sea turtle, macaroni penguin, sea lion, red wolf, whooping crane, and black panther.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Paranoid

Freaked out by the Internet. I'm going private...so if you want to read my (as of late) tri-monthly updates, please let me know and I'll "invite" you.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

You Know You're a Childbirth Educator When...

I am in the middle of teaching my first series of natural childbirth education classes. I am a "provisionally affiliated" (read: in the final step -- teaching a class -- of certification) Bradley Method (R) Instructor. I love it! Cory and I took classes when we were pregnant with Lucas and have used it for all 3 of our births. I've been wanting to teach for years and am so excited to finally be doing it.
So, friends, I bring to you, "You know you're a childbirth educator when..."
1. EVERY time you see a Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control store (with the acronym VABC out front), you read it as VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean).
2. You are excited when your Birth Atlas arrives in the mail!
3. You have your pelvis model lying around in preparation for a class, and your 8 and 6-year old boys pick it up and say, "WHAT is THIS?"
4. You hear same 8 and 6-year old boys tell their friends about their mom's "Bradley".
5. You take your "Growing Uterus Charts" and emotional signposts of labor visuals to be laminated, and the girl ringing you up says, "Cute" (pointing to the faces on the signposts of labor).....because she didn't know what else to say?
6. You have words like "uterus" on your family's blog
7.Every time you see a pregnant woman in public, you think, "I wonder if she knows her options..."
8. You find yourself able to relate even seemingly unrelatable things (i.e., your husband's job as a DC lobbyist for a trade association) to childbirth and/or the modern mismanagement of maternity care.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Cory's Dream

This is Cory -

So I usually don’t write much on the blog, but I had a dream the other night and I had post it, just to see what you think it might be about. I usually have strange dreams, but this one took the cake.

It starts out with Janna, me, and my parents at what looks like a large university campus somewhere in the Northeast. Not sure why or how I know it was in the Northeast, but for some reason in the dream I seem to believe we are somewhere in New York, although I can neither confirm nor deny this. Anyway, the four of us are walking around at this large campus and we come to a large and spacious building, and I think, ok crap, I was hoping I wouldn’t be one of those people…

Wait, wrong dream – we were walking around this large campus in warm weather. We made our way to a very large building, made with brick, lots of windows, and had a glass dome top. We entered the building and quickly made our way to the top floor (one of those weird dream deals when you are one place for one moment, then in a totally different place the next, but I knew I was in the building). We were at the top floor to attend what apparently looked like a large, swanky party, complete with a big band and lots of food. Oh, and I need to mention that during that weird dream thing, Janna somehow disappeared. She was with me outside of the building, and then she wasn’t with me when I was inside with my parents. Anyway, I didn’t seem to mind, because while at the swanky party, I went straight for the petting zoo. Yes – there was what looked like a petting zoo at the party. Weird – but this is just the beginning.

I somehow got roped in to being the person that had to feed the large walrus sitting in a pen that had foam padding a foot high to prevent the large, one ton animal from getting out of its pen. Well, even in a dream I had enough sense to say “no thank you” to feeding the walrus, and then took off my apron and white sanitary gloves and put them in the trash. As I did this, I saw my parents dancing together on the dance floor. Not to hip hop or anything – now that would have been a great dream – but to big band music. Anyway, for some reason, I then decided that I needed to find a restroom. Now, typically in a dream when I have to use the restroom – well, you get the idea, but that wasn’t the case in this dream. I just wanted to see the building’s bathroom. I asked, and someone told me that it was on the bottom floor. So while I can imagine great looking buildings, I obviously cannot plan one out very well.

Anyway, I get to the bottom floor using another one of those magical dream warps and walk around trying to find the bathroom. Instead of finding the bathroom, I find rooms full of workout equipment. Bench presses, squat racks, free weights – you name it, rooms full of them. I then saw a sign above a small door that said “bathroom”. I opened it, and there was just a small sink sitting there, no room for anything else. Above the sink was a mirror, and I saw myself – with jet black hair, looking 15 years younger (yes, 15 years), and I was wearing shorts and a hoodie. I honestly remember thinking in the dream that I wasn’t very well dressed to go to a party, but none the less, I decided to leave the weight room area and I went up some stairs that led to a large open area on the north side of the building I was just in. There were some statues of people apparently important to this university, along with a large grassy field with some people playing ultimate frisbee and flying kites.

Apparently not that impressed, or impressed to leave said area because somehow I knew what was coming (…), I went back down the stairs and started walking down a long hallway, past all the weight lifting rooms. There must have been 5 full size, glass enclosed basketball courts on either side of the hallway, followed by 20 or so racquetball courts. It was all very new looking. To this point, my dream has been somewhat comical, but this is where it gets very weird.
I get to the other end of the hallway which led to the outside, no doors leaving the building. On either side of the exit were stairs leading up to the south side of the building where my parents were (I assume) still dancing in the top floor of the glass-dome building. I decide to walk up the stairs on the right hand side, and as soon as I get to the top, I look back towards the building. There was a field – well, not really a field, but about 100 yards of open area between me and the building. There were people walking on pathways and sitting on benches – just talking. I then heard a noise and turned around. Looking up in the sky, I saw two large objects, both of which I quickly surmised were meteors. Both were coming in at a wicked fast rate, and both landed just on the north side of the building. I saw a large explosion, with debris quickly filling the air behind the building. Bricks, glass, dirt, a statue, cars – a lot of things were flying in the air above the building and heading toward me. So I dove down the stairs and found cover in the hallway where the racquetball courts were.

After a few seconds, the sound of the explosion died down and I looked at the other end of the hallway – nothing but rubble. I then start to walk about of the exit, but in another one of those weird dream things, I have Gabey in my arms. He was scared, but never said anything in my entire dream. As I walk with Gabey in my arms out of the exit, I see Lucas walking, dazed, dust all over him, with a blank stare on his face. I called to him and he ran toward me, pushing a bike with a bag on it (in the bag were boxes of granola bars and water, so we were set!). I asked him what he was doing here (like I even know what I was doing there) and he said he was trying to find his grandma and grandpa. He had some locator on his wrist and it was directing him to where my parents were – pointing into the building. I told him that he would not go into the building but I would check it out to see if it was safe. We walked up the stairs to get back to the south side of the building – again, debris everywhere – and we started to walk down a sidewalk leading to the entrance of the building, I saw people running out of the building, but a fire had started on the second floor and I could tell that some of the floors were gone. I told Lucas that we couldn’t go in and that we had to find a way out of there (sorry mom and dad, but you’re on your own. Maybe you could ride the walrus out of harm’s way).

Anyway, in another one of those weird dream warps, we (Lucas, Gabriel and I) were standing just outside of a medium-sized tour bus, trying to barter our way on to the bus. We got on, and started to drive away. As we started to drive away, I saw the building I was just in – the one with the swanky party and weigh rooms – and it was completely demolished, except for the front. Nothing but a large crater was left starting from the front of the building past the large field were the statues and people were playing frisbee (once again, sorry mom and dad, unless you were able to escape on the walrus, you were probably doomed).
As we were on the bus, I got suddenly remembered we had three kids, not two. I asked Lucas where McKay was (since apparently he was in charge of him) and he said that he was with mommy. Phew! While I had no idea where Janna was, at least I didn’t forget McKay! He was her problem, wherever she was.

I then got Lucas and Gabey to sleep and overheard some people saying that it was an alien attack. I thought “how foolish, it was a meteor.” Not two seconds later I look out my window and see two fighter jets take down what looked like some type of alien space craft. My last thought of my dream – “Oh crap, it is aliens. We’re all screwed…”

So tell me – what does that mean?

A few things I get out of this –
• Swanky parties and dangerous petting zoos never work well
• Never go to a university in the northeast with my parents – it won’t work out too well
• If Armageddon hits, find Lucas. He’s got the granola bars and water. Oh, and a bike
• If I ever own/run a gym, make sure I build a bathroom with at least one toilet
• If there are two large fields, one with statues and people playing frisbee, and another where people are just sitting and talking, always choose the latter
• People in glass buildings won’t be protected from meteors

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

M Turns 2!

The party continued the day after Christmas to celebrate Mackie's 2nd birthday! Helping make his birthday cake all decked out in his new chef's attire, thanks to Uncle James (the family Pastry Chef) and Aunt Sophie. Pants, monogrammed jacket ("Chef McKay"), apron and hat. Pretty darn cute.
His favorite parts: blowing out candles (did it twice),




and opening more presents!



LOVE this. This is his new face.
McKay, smile! (this face)
McKay, pretend you're mad (this face).
McKay, let Mommy do it (this face).










McKay's catch phrase: "Mackie dood it!"
Love you, Mack Attack!