General Conference and Easter too!

The last week has been one of a lot of family and a lot of food.  Not a bad situation to be in!
Saturday and Sunday, March 31 and April 1 was General Conference and we decided to watch at home.  I made a WONDERFUL velveeta/salsa chip dip that I make every conference along with brownies and some other goodies for Saturday!
The kids decided to get out their animal pillows and blankets to watch and I made this super cool poster that allows you to put a general authority at the pulpit when it's their turn to speak.  Izzy was all over that one:)

On Sunday, Grandpa and Grandma Eber came to visit and eat more delicious food.  We had an egg casserole that I learned from Cindy Floyd and then for dinner we had roast, potatoes, and carrots.  We went for a walk in the neighborhood and just had a nice time with Kurtis' folks.

Isabel and Grandma Eber

The Saturday before Easter, Sammy and Isabel were invited to a playdate with Sam's friend from school.  Bennett has a little sister that will be in kindergarten with Isabel next year so their mom invited both kids over.  I thought they might be a little nervous but they were so excited.  They had a picnic outside for lunch and I guess Sam said "Can I say the blessing on the food since I'm a visitor and I'm the oldest?"  It cracked me up b/c he knows we usually allow the oldest to decide who prays.  I guess he's at least learning something.  Tricia (Bennett's mom) also told me that the kids were so well behaved that she would have them come over anytime!  I love when my kids behave when they are visitors.  They really do learn something when you harp at them:)  Meanwhile, Kalen took major advantage of having Daddy all to himself.  I got a pic of them working out in the yard together.

Easter morning, my nephews got baptized at their church.  It was a real learning experience for Sam.  He's taken so much for granted that we all believe the same way.  Earlier in the week, while reading scriptures before bed, Kurtis told Sam a story of someone who learned about the Book of Mormon.  It led to a discussion about people not of our faith.  I explained to Sam that not everyone believes in the Book of Mormon, including Mamaw, Papaw, etc.  Sam sat up straight and said "you mean that they don't believe in the scriptures."  Kurtis said "They believe in the Bible Sam but not the Book of Mormon."  I went on to say that missionaries went out and taught people about the Book of Mormon.  He very innocently replied "I just don't understand."  He also asked why Tom and Kris were being baptized when they were both older than eight.  We explained that some people get baptized when they're older.  Yeah, he really is learning a whole new thing now.
We did get some pictures of the kids in their cute Easter outfits.  The Easter bunny did good this year and even Kalen got into the candy eating (hence the chocolate on his face in his picture).

conversations from the back of the van

While driving today, from the back of the van I hear:
Sam: "Mom, look's like there's a storm coming in from the left."
Izzy: "How can you tell?"
Sam: "See how the clouds look all full?"
Izzy: "What does it mean?"
Sam: "Well, the water evacuates into the clouds and when the clouds are all full, then it rains."
Izzy: "Oh, I already knew that from preschool.  Joseph's mommy taught me."

our own little sitcom episode

after asking me a question and hearing me say "I don't know!", Sammy replies "I thought moms knew everything."
me: "I wish moms knew everything too..but I'm sorry we don't"
Sammy: "do dads know everything?"
me: "No Buddy, dads don't know everything either."
Sammy: "man, wouldn't be cool if they did?"

I love my boy!

Sam also asked me a few days ago "why do you think Jesus made our eyebrows to go up and down?"   just another question with which I replied "I don't know!"

another episode of Sammy says

my kids were helping Daddy wash the car...Sam: "I'm on the water station, Izzy is the soap station, Daddy's station is to reach the top of the car, and Mom, you're the Director".....OH YEAH! I'M THE DIRECTOR!!!!

when telling Sam that his Pa was 63 for his birthday, Sam says "really? I thought you die at 30 something!" yeah, he's grounded;)

 

woke up to Sam telling Kalen "wake up! we're getting a new baby!" um, what?! when I asked Kurtis what was going on, he says "he's probably talking about a stuffed animal." My kids really know how to wake me up with the oddest statements:)

The long and the short of it....

Okay, so here's the deal....the issue that has weighed heavily on my mind as of late.
When Kurtis and I got married, we considered ourselves a little older than some couples and wanted to get pregnant right away.  Something that pressed heavily upon both of us was to start a family.  It didn't quite work out that way.  Depending on who you ask it would seem like eight months is not a long time to get pregnant.  But to us it seemed like an eternity.  I'm sure alot of that had to do with the fact that we weren't even sure if we could get pregnant so there was a fear factor involved as well.  But after eight months and an ovulation kit, we were pregnant and brought a 9lb. 15 oz boy into the world. Life was grand.  When Sam turned a year old, we had a serious talk.  We figured it would take roughly 6-8 months to get pregnant again so we decided to go off the pill and see what happened.  Two weeks after being on the pill, Isabel decided to not make us wait.  It was a  miracle to us in alot of ways.  But once she was born and we suddenly had two children only 22 months apart, we decided to wait a bit before adding any more to our family.  And that's what we did.  When the time was right, it took us four months and another ovulation kit to bring Kalen into the world.  But Izzy and Kalen were 33 months apart so it seemed like the perfect timing.
Kalen's pregnancy took a difficult turn when I started fainting and having dizzy spells.  I saw numerous specialists and later was told it was just pregnancy-induced and would go away after the baby was born.  Only it didn't.  After Kalen was born, I continued to have dizzy spells and what I like to call "episodes".  I finally was diagnosed with panic attacks and Irritable Bowel Syndrome "episodes".  I went on medication for awhile but knew that if I wanted to have another baby, I would eventually have to go off the medication.  I was fine with that.  Hey, just about a year off medication to have a baby and right back on it, right?  Not quite.  After getting off the medication, having a colonoscopy and numerous ovulation kits, I'm still not pregnant.  So I prayed.  I felt like the Lord was saying to have my foot looked at.  I've had a wart on the bottom of my foot since I was pregnant with Kalen (in 2009) so I had that cut out of my foot.  And still no baby.  I prayed and was told "to not get discouraged by the Lord's timing".   Well, easier said than done.  And now, for the last two months, I've stopped ovulating and face the chance of having to take fertility meds to get pregnant.  To add lemon juice to the papercut, I know of at least 15 women who are having babies in 2012!  It's crazy.
So why am I sharing all of this?  Isn't it a bit personal to put out there?  Absolutely!  This is totally personal and maybe someone will be offended by my honesty.  (If so, please know I mean no offense.)  But I'm overwhelmed here!  I'm trying to follow the Lord's plan but in the meantime, I'm crazy jealous of others, totally self-loathing at my inability to get pregnant currently, and maybe I just need to share.  Maybe someone else has been there, is there, or will be there soon.  The truth is: could it be worse?  Yeah! But it could also be better!  And while I'm thankful for all that I have, including my three darling children, I want another one!  Question my sanity all you want!  Shout at me to be patient, to stop shooting off my mouth, to exercise my faith, etc!  I promise you won't be telling me anything I haven't told myself.  But maybe while you're thinking and saying those things, you'll also offer a prayer for my behalf.  Maybe you'll take pity on my sorry state and appeal to the Lord to save me from myself.  Or maybe you'll just know that sometimes when Greta stops smiling for a moment and seems to be lost in herself, she really is just focusing on a righteous desire.  At the very least, I feel better for putting it out there.  I'm not sorry for sharing.  That's the long and short of it......

Kalen's new "do"

When Kalen was born, he had very little hair.  It was so blond and so "peach fuzzy" that everyone joked he was bald.  I was always quick to rally to my baby's defense and say his hair was just light.  It took well over 18 months for him to get a lot of hair but once it started growing, Kalen ended up with A LOT of curls.  With the unusually warm weather over the last few weeks, Kurtis noticed that Kalen was sweating when he was asleep so we decided to cut his hair. I don't mean trim his hair; I mean CUT his hair....buzz cut. I got out the trimmers and set them for the longest setting (1 inch) and went to work.  Kalen did not cry or cringe or move.  He sat on Daddy's lap and took it like a man.  Mommy, however, sobbed like her heart would break and saved every bit of hair that she could pick up off the floor.  No more curls, no more baby hairdo, no more baby.  Kalen is officially a little boy!  It does look cute but it was an emotional task, to say the least.

front view of before

back view of before

the casualties

after

after



the new 'do



Friend for a season

I know a few people who, now in their thirties, are still friends with people that they were friends with as children.  For instance, Kurtis is friends with someone that he met in kindergarten.  We don't always get together with Nick and his wife but when we do, we have a great time and we love each other's kids.  It's kinda nice.  But I often look at Kurtis and Nick (and others as well) and wonder why I don't have that.  Sure, I friended my old best friends from high school on facebook but then after a year or so, I defriended them b/c really, we weren't even remotely interested in being friends anymore.  They were upset with me about something that happened our freshman year in college and never got over it.  I don't say that to blame them but to make it clear that the three of us had all moved on.  But I look at it now and realize that I'm not even close friends with those friends I had in college.  Does that make me bad in some way?  I used to think it did.
There was a time in my life where I felt like everyone HAD to like me.  I had to be friends with everyone.  Because if I wasn't their friend then that meant that someone thought bad of me.  And that was heartbreaking to me--that someone would think bad of me.  But it was also pretty selfish of me.  I'm pretty sure some people (who I assumed thought badly of me) probably didn't think of me at all!
And herein lies my epiphany!  I'm a friend for a season.  I'm that girl that is fiercely loyal and will drag around your stinkin' carcass and beat up anyone who tears you down--when you need that sort of a friend.  Hopefully, most people out there don't need that kind of a friend all the time...or even often.  I'm that girl that you need to be brutally honest when no one else will be honest with you.  I'm that girl who will love you when you hate yourself....but when you're good to go and have a steady shot at life...I can be kinda intense:)
And the same goes with who I am....I'm not the same girl I was in kindergarten, junior high, as a sophomore at Wittenberg, or even has a 23 year old brand new convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (a Mormon, you say!).  I needed different friends at different points in my life because I was a different person at those times.  And whomever I was closest to was who I needed the most.  And, I like to think, vice versa.  With that being said, I still have a fierce love and loyalty to certain people from certain times in my life.  I will never forget them or how they impacted me during "our season".  And for those who seem to have been around for a particularly long season, well, maybe you aren't my "seasonal friends"...maybe you are my family!  And let's face it, family never fades with time!