Thanksgiving.

This year we went to Idaho for Thanksgiving to be with my family. It was another first for our family, and those are never easy. This holiday season has been difficult for all of us as we are rapidly approaching the year mark from when my Mom passed away. At this time last year we had found out that the cancer was terminal and our minds were all spinning, wondering how much time she had left, what we could do for her, what to expect, etc. We all spent Thanksgiving with my parents last year, so technically, it should have been the in-laws year this year. When I asked my Dad a few months ago what he thought, he got choked up and said "I need you here." That was all it took. We were all there again this year. These firsts are not easy, but being around my family makes it more bearable. We're all going through the same thing, and that helps me cope.

Now that Mom is gone, my attention is on my Dad. How is he doing, what does he need? I think of things I have never thought of before. Does he have any food on his shelves? Is the laundry caught up? Does he need socks? Pants? Are the bathrooms clean? Do the dishes need to be washed? The kitchen floor need to be mopped? These thoughts run through my head every time we visit, and even when I'm not there... I wonder what my Dad needs. This visit, we decorated his house for Christmas. That was hard, going through all of the decorations that my mom loved and putting them up without her. The end result was fantastic, though. My sisters and sisters-in-law did a great job decorating the amazing tree that my mom bought on QVC (her obsession). Isn't it pretty?

I usually have a really hard time leaving my Dad's house... I get so attached, and am so worried about him (even though he is doing great, I still worry). This time, it was a little easier to leave. I realized that this was something my Mom wanted us to do... keep up with the little things that she loved to do. And my family has done such a great job with that. My Dad is well taken care of. I have 4 brothers and 3 sisters (and their awesome spouses) that make sure of that. I don't need to worry. I have at least 7 people who are thinking the same thing as me.

So this year, more than ever, I am so thankful for my family.

Meet Lucy.

We love her. She loves us. Yes, even Macey. She's only 13 weeks old. I am so surprised at her patience with Miss Macey and her unrelenting cuddles and tickles. She only licks and playfully swats at Macey, but the second she looks at me it's all bites and big time playing! We are hoping Lucy can help us out with a little mice problem. We have one smart mouse running around at night, licking the traps clean and never getting caught. Oh, just wait, mousey. One day you'll come face to face with a very willing, bigger Lucy. HA! I have never been a cat person... but Lucy has softened my heart.

Randy's, too.

Latest obsession.

Macey is obsessed with one thing or activity for about a week, and then moves on to something bigger, better, and usually messier. This week, she's all about storage tubs. She likes to line them up, turn them upside down, and walk across them. Sometimes she even gets crazy and jumps across. Her favorite though, is hiding inside them. Especially if she can fit her blankie in with her, and watch tv at the same time. Heaven. I kind of thought it was a little funny looking, so I took a picture.


Well, Macey thought it was kind of funny that I was taking a picture of her, so she grabbed my camera, put her care bear in the tub, and took a picture.


Randy didn't believe me at first that Macey took that picture, but then I showed him this one. Very incriminating. And classic Macey.

Deep thoughts...

So, as I'm sitting here enjoying the feeling of those first little baby kicks inside my belly, I started thinking.....

when Macey was born, I got really really annoyed that no matter how much pink she was wearing, no matter how big the bow on her head was... people still mistook her for a boy.

Which led me to wonder... besides wearing blue, what could I possibly put on display if this little one is a boy?




Maybe don't answer that. :P




Edited to add: I am now in my 19th week, and am hoping to find out the gender a day or two before Thanksgiving! It'll take some sweet talking the receptionists to get me in that week... so we'll see what happens.

Randy

So I'm stealing this idea from my friend Courtney. I think we all need to hear a little more about the man of my house... Randy.

1. Where did we meet?
Hoo boy. Long story. Basically, Randy and his old mission companion were cruisin' the hot spots of Provo.. y'know... Albertsons... and his companion got a look at my BFF from high school (and roommate) and thought she was somethin' else. He approached her, told her she was smokin'... and would she like to hang out sometime? His moves were just too smooth, so she said ok and gave him her number. He called later that night and said I have a friend (Randy), do you have a friend? She didn't even ask me when she told him yes. I was very mad, I don't do blind dates. Well- they ended up coming over to our apartment that night, and me being the awesome mature freshman that I was, decided to go for a run just when they were expected to arrive (I had never ran before in my life, but I desperately wanted to avoid the blind date). When I got back, they were still there. Darn. I do remember though, the first time I saw him I thought "wow, those are some pretty eyes" and "... he has something on his nose." Haha! For those of you who haven't seen Randy, he has a cute lil' freckle on the tip of his nose. I can't believe how snotty I must have looked, but for reasons beyond me (and even Randy, now that he looks back on it), he still wanted to pursue me. It was not an easy road for him. Or me. I did NOT want a boyfriend.

2. How long did we date? "officially" started dating in December of '03 (after "hanging out" exclusively for 3 months... I was in denial, can you tell?), and got married in December of '04. So a little over a year. Oh and add a 2 month "break" in there somewhere... Randy needed to take some time to make sure I was "the one". All I had to do was show 'interest' in another guy and that made up his mind. =0)

3. How long have you been married? 4 years.

4. What does he do that surprises you? Reads my mind... seriously, how can he know what I'm thinking every time?

5. What is your favorite feature of his? Those gorgeous blue eyes and loonnnng eyelashes

6. What is your favorite quality of his? Comforter, Listener, Best Friend

7. Does he have a nickname for you? Hmmm... Mommy, Nae, Nae-Nae, Nuh, Ginners, Cheeks McGrins

8. What is his favorite color? BLUE. GoooOOO COUGARS!!

9. What is his favorite food? Any kind of meats.

10. What is his favorite sport? Uhm, I don't understand this questions? SporT? How about football, basketball, baseball, hockey etc.

11. When and where was your first kiss? His apartment, during Christmas Break... the same night he told me "do you think this could be more than like?" Yeah, I know... sweet talker.

12. Favorite thing to do as a couple? Laying in bed- talking, laughing, joking until one of us starts snoring... watching movies, just spending time together!

13. Does he have a hidden talent? I don't think it's hidden, but he is an awesome natural musician. He can play the cello like it's nobody's business. Also, he would have me say that he's really good at video games.

14. How old is he? 26 for a few more months

15. Who said "I love you" first? He tried. See #11. He asked me (voice shaking) "do you think this could be more than like?" I didn't want to be the first one to say it, so I replied "I think we both know the answer." Hahaha.

16. What is his favorite type of music? If you know Randy, you know that this question would not apply to him. As long as it's not country, he probably has it on his Ipod.

17. What do you admire most about him? His will to get through school and to support our little family. He is the best daddy ever. It's about all he can take to go to school and work for the day, he hates missing out on things.

18. Do you think he will read this? No. Well, maybe... but I'll have to link our blog address to him. He just doesn't dig the blogging world.

Dose of Macey

Macey: (after looking out the window at the now headless melting snowman we made the day before) Mommy! Look, snowman's head fell off!! Call the doctor and fix it!

------------

Me: Ew Macey, you have a stinky bum!
Macey: Ew Mommy, you have a stinky baby belly! (I checked... and it was not stinky.)

------------

Macey's prayer tonight: Love Gamma and Gampa............... and microphone. (We got to visit daddy at work on Friday, he recorded her in a studio and she thought it was the coolest thing ever.)

Happy Halloween!! And Happy Birthday, to me!

I turned the big 2-4 on Halloween. I was so happy I got to spend my birthday with my family in Idaho! We had a costume party at my brother's house, and all the cousins who were there went trick-or-treating together... it was a good time. I missed my fam. Thanksgiving just seemed too far away, so I'm really glad we made the quick 24 hour trip. :) Plus I got to visit my favorite craft store ever-- Porter's!

Here are some highlights:

Can't be positive about these things... but I'm pretty sure she is the cutest Minnie Mouse EVER!

My Dad. I actually brought him a costume just in case he decided to poop out.
Boy, did I underestimate him or what?! :)

My brother Justin and his wife Carleen. AKA Sarah Palin and John McCain.
Too bad we didn't get a better picture of Carleen, she looked JUST like her!
My brother Rhett and sister-in-law Claudine. "Thing 1 and Thing 2". Randy was seriously creeped out by Rhett's make up. He kept making sideways glances all night.
You never know with my brother Lance. This year he blew us all away with his sexy tights and wicked awesome make up. He takes the grand prize home. His wife Katie dressed up as a cute kitty! I don't have a good picture of her, though. All of my attention was on those legs of his....
My sister Shalean and her husband Rick. They had smarties taped to their pant legs... get it? They were "Smarty Pants". AHAHA. Hmm... nice try, Shalean. Better luck next year. Ok, I can't give you so much crap because you did give me an awesome birthday present. Thank you!! But seriously... next time, don't go all out, k? ;) Or at least be sure to have some candybars somewhere for me, too.
Yours truly and my husband, Joe Bobby Dirt. My shirt said "my husband can beat up your husband!"
Somebody said our costume was so funny because I was pregnant (see my baby bump? 17.5 weeks!) to which Randy responded "pregnant and bare foot. That's how I keep 'em." Oh my... he was just a little too perfect for his part.
Nothing wrong with a little groping action. Can't you see those hard pecs? :)

I didn't take any pictures of all the cousins, they were too busy trick-or-treating and eating all of their candy!! They were so cute, though. And my sister Heather dressed up in her pajamas, (she's a mom of 5... are you kidding me? I would show up everywhere in my pajamas!) and her husband came from work dressed up as a witch... no good pictures of them in their attire, though! We missed my sister Natalie, who lives in Boise... she was bummed she couldn't make it, but we'll all be together again at Thanksgiving!

So... yay for family! Yay for birthdays! Yay for Halloween! And YA AYAYA that it's all over so I can sleep! :)