My Hiding

I've seen it a million times before from lots of different children. But it's always funny when a child thinks you can't see him because his eyes are closed or covered with his hands. I took a few minutes today to find Cameron and Nicole this morning as they were hiding. "I see you!" I told Cameron. "No, my hiding," he replied. "But I see you under the piano bench." "No, you not see my eyes." he answered while chomping on a piece of bread.

Cavity Free

The kids are still cavity free. Wahoo!! I loved all the new improvements Dr. Dixon made to the office. The kids were especially loving the television sets above their heads while they got their teeth cleaned. Only bad part, besides the bill, was that I didn't have wipes in the car. I usually keep diaper and wipes under Cameron's seat. It's really not easy changing a dirty diaper without them. What did people used to do before diapers and dentists for that matter!?

Wishin' I spoke French

Tanta Henri sent me a link to this video about the Basques in California in 1969. My dad is in it around the 18 minute mark, along with my grandparents. There are lots of friends and family throughout the video. What a treasure!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Love,
This little leprechaun

This is the extent of my holiday hoopla---the kids are wearing something green. In a last ditch effort I put green food coloring into my pasta dinner.  Oh well, there will always be more St. Patrick's Days?

Nick's Mission Call

This morning the kids built a massive fort. It was pretty cozy and warm inside. Church was amazing and after dinner we listened in on Nick reading his mission call....Lyon France. It was so exciting. He's headed to the same mission that Aaron's parents served in (the Switzerland mission had now been incorporated into the Lyon mission). Nick is such a great young man. He was accepted to BYU last week and headed to the Provo MTC on July 9th. We will hopefully be there for his farewell. It's been a good day.

Family History

It was another gorgeous day with a lot of Saturday morning productivity. We got a ton of work done around the house. Last night I snatched this picture of my dad to document this more important work. I should start using a little bit of my Saturdays understanding these hieroglyphics. It all makes sense to him. He carries his sheets and notes with him all the time. I will forever love this image.

Deep Thoughts

I didn't do much this morning. In fact, I didn't get dressed until noon. I didn't have to do any carpooling. I didn't do any play dates for the kids. We had a week of them. I paid some bills and finished some laundry. I spent at least a half hour staring at the entertainment piece Randy installed last night. It's gorgeous! Our master bedroom is looking really beautiful.

Then the rest of the time I thought about the tragic passing of the Vranes' cousins' husband. I kept thinking this morning about how quickly life can change for any of us. Katie Vranes Byrge said goodbye to her husband for the last time on Wednesday morning as he bicycled off to work. I kept imagining how devastating the news was for Katie, especially after she recently lost her amazing mother to cancer. I kept thinking about her sweet children and how heartbreaking it must have been to pull them out of school to deliver the news. And I kept thinking about the next morning waking up and wishing it was all just a terrible awful dream. Katie is an amazing person. And while I never met her husband, I do know that everyone loved him dearly.

Of course, that kind of a tragedy always makes you look inward and contemplate life's bigger questions. I wondered what it would be like to lose Aaron? For me, I'm sure I would never want to remarry. I can't imagine finding a more perfect companion. Maybe I could deal being a widow? As hard and lonely as it would be, I know that the sealing power would give me hope and peace. But the hardest would be navigating through single motherhood. I just couldn't imagine how heartbreaking it would be for the children without a loving father...a father to teach them and love them. Who would take the girls to the daddy-daughter dance and the father-son camp-out? Who would baptize them or give the boys the priesthood? Who would walk through that door at dinnertime each night with hugs and kisses and games? And while friends and family would undoubtedly step in and bless their lives, it would never be the same, it could never be the same.

My heart aches for that beautiful family. And all you can do is hope and pray that God will pour out his blessings upon them and give them patience and peace, always remembering that in the next life it would be right again.