Growing....

Kids grow too fast.

Sammy started Preschool. He loves it. I wanted to get one of those cute "first day of school" pictures, but Sam wouldn't hold still.

Luke has given up his bedtime binky, moved to a toddler bed and then into the other twin bed in Sam's room all in the last week! One night Kendall put him to bed and Luke didn't say anything about needing his binky, so Kendall didn't give him one. It's four days later and I'm still waiting for the big blow up. It's not supposed to be that easy. He transitioned into a "big boy" bed with surprising ease as well. The last two nights he's been in the room with Sam and it's taken a good hour and half for them to stop playing and coming out and finally go to sleep. Here's Luke after he finally decided to go to sleep last night.

And Brigg just changes everyday. He loves to talk and we've gotten a few little giggles out of him the last couple of days as well. So cute! I just love having a baby around!

Faith

I have been so reminded lately of how quickly things can change. On Septemeber 11th Kendall and I watched a show on the History Channel that showed people in New York that caught the happenings on their home video cameras. It was a perspective I had never seen before and it had me thinking how quickly and unexpectedly our lives can be turned upside down.

My neighbor, 7 months pregnant, was standing on the sidewalk dropping her kids off at school when a kid on a skatboard came barreling down the sidewalk and smacked into her. She shattered her ankle...had to have a big surgery and put in some plates, lay in bed with her ankle elevated for weeks...baby ended up coming early from all the stress...flown to Primary Children's Hospital with a body full of fluids...things are looking really good for her (gratefully!) and Mom is doing fine as well...all from the mundane and daily task of dropping the kids off at school.
It had me thinking how things can happen anytime, anywhere without any warning.

I heard about this couple a few weeks ago from Sarah who knows the guy from BYU. Then, another friend of mine had the link to it, so I gave it a look.

I can't stop thinking about this girl and this family. It had me thinking, once again, how quickly things can change. But, this story has also really reminded me of the hope that I am so fortunate to have because of my testimony in Jesus Christ. That I don't need to walk around in fear if I truly believe that He is in control, that He will never leave us comfortless and that we can be together eternally. I'm also so inspired by this girl because of how fun she is with her kids and cute with her husband. She's been blogging for years and had quite a blog following even before her accident because of how fun and positive she is. I think about her often throughout the day now. I read through her blog when I can and look for updates on her condition. She inspires me. Her family that is giving everything they can to taking care of her kids inspire me. The HUGE overflow of support, prayers and donations from people in the blogging world that don't know her inspire me.
I am so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is because of this that I can move forward in faith and not fear.

Green Thumb?

I'm feeling a little bit lied to. I remember being in Elementary school and learning about how a seed grows. We put the little seed into a Dixie cup full of soil, gave it some water and put it in the window sill. Plants need soil, water and sunlight to grow, right? That's what I've been taught my whole life. Well, I'm beginning to believe that there's more to it than that. We have some garden boxes full of dirt. Soil. Check. Then, we planted some seeds or some already started plants. I would take the hose out there every couple of days to give them a little drink. Water. Check. And, of course, it's outside so they got plenty of sunlight. Check.
After a few months, the plants grew bigger and bigger and started to get some blossoms. Yea! We must be great gardeners. Then, a little while later, the blossoms turned into tomatoes or peppers or cucumbers. Wow! We are doing great! And then, some of the tomatoes even started turning red. Awesome! I was feeling pretty good about the whole process because I had pulled probably 10 tomatoes off that we had eaten and another handfull of peppers. I just must have such a green thumb! Then, I learned that our friends next door have so much ripe produce coming out of their garden that they've started selling it at the weekly Farmer's Market. And, they gave us a couple of their tomatoes and that's when I realized that there is something in the whole process that I've missed.

Theirs is the one on the left.

And, you can't tell from the picture, but mine has some weird spots all over it.

Couldn't they have started in Preschool telling you the truth about this? That it really needs more than dirt, water and sun? That really, you've got to have the right Ph levels in that soil and maybe add some compost or some fertilizer. And you've got to make sure to water just the right amount and that some plants require more sunlight than others. And, that at some point in the maturing, you'r supposed to stop watering so that they can ripen. Stop watering? That goes against everything that I knew. Let's just hope that we never have to rely on our gardening skills to keep us alive someday.