Happy Anniversary, Sugar

Ok, so I just threw up a little bit in my mouth when I typed that. Randy and I are not one for pet names. It's not that I don't like being called "honey" or "sweet cakes" or "cupcake" all the time... oh wait, yes it is. Anyway, it's our 4 year anniversary today. Hoo-rah! It's been so fun looking through our old pictures that I have on the computer (because we are in Logan today, at Randy's parents house. Jealous much? I think everyone should spend their Anniversaries at their in-laws. It's magical.) and reminiscing about how giddy-excited we were to get married for time and all eternity and to start our journey together.

It's so fun to laugh at ourselves in the pictures and talk about how nervous we were and what we would change, if we could, on that day... like going to pick up Randy at 6:30 AM at his hotel so we could go get our awesome spray on tans... now that we can look back and laugh (not cry), probably wouldn't have done that. We stunk all day of tanning spray, Randy was orange, and I had ginormous lines on my hands. Or how about when Randy left me at the temple to get to the luncheon? Hahaha. I had to hitch a ride with my parents to get to my own luncheon. That's right... I was left at the temple, not the altar. Or never forget when Randy had prepared a "special number" for me at the luncheon... and sang Kip's song from Napoleon Dynamite. You know the one... "but I still love technology, but not as much as you you see, always and forever....always and forever". Yeah, hilarious. Except for the fact that Napoleon Dynamite was still kind of new and NONE of my family had seen it and therefore could not appreciate the humor there. Instead of laughing, I kept looking nervously at my brothers who were shaking their heads, thinking ohhh DaNae, what have you done telling them "it's from NAPOLEON DYNAMITE!!" Now we can look back and laugh at these things, but on my wedding day it might as well have been Armageddon.

It's been quite the 4 years. We have been through a whole heck of a lot together already, I can't imagine going through it with anyone else. I look forward to the journey ahead. I'm so glad I married a man with the same sense of humor as me. What fun is life if you can't laugh at it? Happy Anniversary, sweet cheeks.

P.S. Not that you care... but we really do plan on actually celebrating in a more not-so-awkward scenario... the romance hasn't been all lost. We fully intend on booking a hotel of some sort very soon and taking advantage of some babysitting promises. =0P

Wow, really?

Macey at 6 months. I thought the picture was relevant to the post... I'm pretty sure I made that same face when I saw my tummy today.

More stomach stretchmarks? At 24 weeks? Like I didn't have enough from Macey? This is not my grown up Christmas wish.

Baby, it's cold outside...

Up here on the bench we have gotten 10 inches of snow today! We have about a foot and a half of snow right now. It has been so fun watching it come down non-stop! Our neighbor across the street couldn't even pull in to her driveway after shopping for a couple of hours, Randy and another neighbor had to dig her a path just to her garage! Macey kept asking me if we could go outside and make a snowman, but I didn't dare brave the cold today. I have been sick and didn't want to add any other symptom to my misery! I just like watching from the inside on a day like today.

Randy was really dreading coming home and shoveling the driveway and walkway after work, so I let him off the hook. I had some errands to run and I sure as heck wasn't going to drive myself around town! We are on the very border of our city's boundaries, so we kind of get overlooked when it comes to snowplowing. It's super slick out. Shoveling could wait a day. My errands could not! We were gone for a little over an hour and when we came back our driveway and even my sidewalks had been completely cleared!! We were both shocked! I had a hunch, and I was right. It didn't take me long to see my visiting teacher trying to hide her face a couple of doors down. Her husband took the day off to clear people's driveways for them, and she was out helping him. How awesome are they?! They literally saved us a couple of hours worth of work.

1 year.

I can't come up with adequate words to describe some of the things I have felt, seen, heard and thought since the passing of my Mom. I'm definitely not a writer, but I feel like I need to get this out so I can look back and read this some day and remember. WARNING: This post is just a lot of ramblings. To read a super inspiring post about my mom written by my sister, go here.

The feeling of loss is constant and still tender. Sometimes the feelings of despair and anguish are prevalent. The love I have felt from my family and especially from our all-knowing Heavenly Father has been overwhelming. The loyalty of my family is unquestionable. Sometimes I think I am too immature to go through this and be a sane person. Most of the time I try to push my emotions to the side (that never works). The truth and hope of the Gospel is there. I rely on my faith. Constantly, I am humbled.

Watching my Mom battle cancer was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. She handled it like a champ. Even though she was in unspeakable pain, she never complained. She was constantly trying to better herself and was so concerned about other people's well being. I remember flipping through one of her little notebooks she would keep by the end table, and in barely legible writing, I made out "What can I learn from this?" That has stuck with me ever since. This is a growing experience for me. What can I learn from it? How can I become a better person because of it? I am still learning and probably will always continue to learn and grow from it.

Mom told me after we found out that the cancer was terminal that she and my Dad had had a talk. She told my Dad "I'm worried about the kids." He told her that she would probably be able to do more for us on the other side than she would here. I think about that often. I'm sure that my Mom is doing all she can for us on the other side, preparing a place for us, preparing a way. I need to be doing all I can do to make sure that I can be there. My brother Justin told us of an experience he had while listening to Elder Holland's talk in conference. He said " when I listened to the story of the father taking off his clothes to swim the raging river to rescue his son, the spirit told me very strongly that my mother swam across the raging river to save her children. She can do more on the other side than she could do here. There is nothing that Mom would not do to have us all return to her and our Heavenly Father. She loves us more than I will ever appreciate. Always remember!" Her pain will not be in vain.

One of the last pieces of advice my mom gave us all was last Thanksgiving, we knew the cancer was terminal and we were asking her questions, "what can we do?" "is there anything you want to do?" She told us very calmly "Just relax... and enjoy". What advice! What strength! What courage! My mom never ceased to amaze me. I kept bugging her about what I could do for her and she said "Just serve others. When you serve others, think of me." I thought it was so fitting that for the one year anniversary of my mom's passing... my brothers, sisters and Dad in Idaho are getting together and making my parents' neighbors and home teachers/visiting teachers gifts and taking them around. That is exactly what mom would have wanted.

Watching my mom literally go through the Refiner's fire has strengthened my testimony immensely. In her computer room she had written the saying "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear". As I look back on those last years of my mom's life, these scriptures come to mind: "peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment" "And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high" (D&C 121:7-8). I'm so grateful for the life that she led, what an example she is to me!

Even though I am still struggling with the constant heartache of it all, I am thankful for this life changing experience. It has definitely taught me what's most important in life, especially around this time of year. I also have a greater understanding of and appreciation for God's will. I am determined to become a better person because of this trial.

"The Divine Shepherd has a message of hope, strength, and deliverance for all. If there were no night, we would not appreciate the day, nor could we see the stars and the vastness of the heavens. We must partake of the bitter with the sweet. There is a divine purpose in the adversities we encounter every day. They prepare, they purge, they purify, and thus they bless."

--President Faust, 2006

It's a....

We are super excited! I'm 23 weeks, so we got a pretty good view. The little guy is breech right now (and is kicking my bladder as we speak), but that shouldn't be a big deal yet! Everything looks good, baby weighs in at a pound!

Best idea ever!

This post actually has nothing to do with that picture, but it's one of those "omigoshihavethecutestkidever" moments. We took her to Temple Square last night, she was in heaven. Can you tell?

The real reason of this post is to talk about Macey's progress in nursery. She has never, ever liked nursery. She is a super shy kid when she's out of her element, and loud kids freak her out. It doesn't matter if the kid is trying to take away a toy she has or give her a hug, she will cry if they get close. Poor thing has inherited my anxiety. Usually when she's around kids, she goes to her own little corner with some toys and plays and organizes by herself. Of course that can't happen in nursery with 15 kids running around! Just as we were starting to make some headway with her going without one of us, we moved... which completely threw her for a loop. She didn't know anyone in our new ward, and there were lots more kids! I was really concerned about it. But then our ward did something awesome... they split into 3 nurseries: one for the older kids, one for the outgoing younger kids, and one for the shy ones. Oh my gosh. I can't tell you what a difference this has made!! There are only 4 other little girls in Macey's class (I had to laugh that there were no timid boys), all super shy like her. It has been so fun watching the progress that these little girls are making together! I don't know if it's because they are not worried that they're going to get their toys taken away from them or what, but they are each coming out of their shell and becoming good friends with each other! Usually when we go to pick up Macey she'll run right to us from her little corner or from holding the hand of her teacher, but for the past month or so she hasn't wanted to leave! Last night we had our ward party and she went running into the gym saying "Mommy, I see my friends!" I knew eventually she would come out of her shell, regardless of who she was around... but this nursery class has done wonders for her!! I was talking to her 2 teachers today and they said the same thing about all of the little girls. All I can say is HALLELUJAH! I always got butterflies in my stomach when Sacrament Meeting was over, because that meant another battle (as if Sacrament wasn't enough)... not anymore! WOOHOO!! Best idea ever!

I'm bringing colored lights back!!

If you don't know what I mean by this "bringing them back"... well then, you just keep on keepin' on, my friend. :D I'll admit, I myself was not fond of the colored light Christmas trees. I found myself turning my nose up at them, saying as for me and my house, we will have clear lights. And then, Black Friday 2008 happened. Randy and I had our eyes on this awesome tree at Home Depot. Our old tree (which was also a Black Friday find from Home Depot) had lit its last light 2 weeks before Christmas last year. A whole section just refused to light up. I don't know how many times we got zapped testing each and every little light bulb... let me tell you, they all had juice to them. Anyway, Randy, being the good man that he is, braved the cold and madness alone (as I was... conveniently sick) on Black Friday morning at Home Depot. We knew it would be a race for these trees, they were marked 75% off for crying out loud! And LED lights? I don't even know what that means, but it sounds high class! Randy said it was a full on race to the trees... just like we knew it would be. Somehow, by miracles of all miracles... we got one, the last one, which just so happened to have "clear" lights. (Do you have goosebumps?) They had 2 options, "color" or "clear"... I gave specific instructions. It was when Randy was making his way to the checkout line, fists up, as people had tried to STEAL our tree (suckas! wake up earlier next year!) that a cold, lonely and forlorn man approached Randy from the shadows with his sob story. You see, this man also had specific instructions to bring home a "clear" tree. Sadly, he did not grab one. Instead, he had mistakenly picked up a colored tree. He wanted to make the "boss" happy. He could not, would not bring home a colored tree! The nerve to even think of such a thing! So, of course, Randy being the good man that he is, found it in his heart to trade this sad man our clear tree for his colored tree. Hence, why I am bringing colored lights back.

And you know what? After humbling myself, and putting up my new tree decorations (thank you, Tai Pan), I actually like colored lights better than white lights! *GASP* You heard. And here's why: they are fun. Funner than white lights ever dreamed of being! And, if I do say so myself, they look awesome with my fun theme I have going on with my tree. The pictures just don't do the beauty justice.

I decided to have a half sentimental tree. The ornaments, they mean nothing to me. Just some pretty things I picked up from Tai Pan Trading this year. The nutcrackers, on the other hand, are sentimental. It's a little tradition we have going in our family to buy a nutcracker figurine each year. It's fun to look back at them all (all 4 of them) and remember the year we bought them and why we chose the one we did. To be honest I've never really liked this tradition until this year... I actually have a place to put them! The train was also a Black Friday find at Home Depot. Macey loves it! I would love it more if I had ear plugs.

So, don't care about my tree? Well then, you just go back to your self righteous ways with your clear lights... I'll be here, enjoying this view... laughing on the inside, because I know I am having more fun than you. One day when you make the change to color, you'll see. You'll all see.

TA-DA!! My etsy store!!

I was going to wait until I had a fully stocked store to introduce it to the blogging world, but... that's about as likely as me mopping the floor tonight. It just ain't gonna happen. =) But, I do have a little collection going and it has gotten a good (but slow) response, so that gives me the courage that I needed to keep adding my crafties to it. I decided it was probably time to tell when friends (ok, friend. Becky!) were finding out through random websites that I had an internet store! Haha!

Anyway, check it out! www.missmaceymoo.etsy.com -- my awesome friend Hilary designed my banner and little avatar.

I've been making bracelets for about a year now, and have made my 16 nieces and Macey I don't know how many bracelets... and they all seemed to like them, so I figured why not?! So, now you know. I feel all exposed.

Tell everyone you know!! And if any of you want to place an order at any time, be sure to let me know first and I'll give you a deal! =0)

P.S. For those of you in Cache County, I have bracelets in the salon Revive. It's a super nice salon (Randy's cousin owns it), they sell Bumbles there, too!

Slippers

Slippers are Macey's two favorite things in the world. Yep, two. She calls her chap stick/lip gloss "slippers". It's really weird, because she refers to my lip gloss as lipstick or chap stick, but she simply won't understand what you're saying if you call her chap stick anything but "slippers".

She is also obsessed with real slippers. Problem is, she doesn't have any. But she does have a pair of super worn out pink mary janes with princesses on the sole that she says are her slippers. They are pictured two or three posts down, I think. I hate them. I don't know how many times I have put them in the DI bag, garbage, or just hidden them somewhere I believed was Macey proof. Wrong. They always show up, on her feet... and usually the wrong ones. If it wasn't for the stinking princesses, those things would be long gone by now.

So, I'm sure you see where I'm going with this. Of course I have purchased many glittery lip smackers for her slipper pleasure for stocking stuffers... and last night I bought those cutie patootie princess slippers that are pictured (50% at Smith's Marketplace!). I am SUPER excited... mostly, because I know these cute slippers will immediately replace her non-slippers, and I'll finally be able to get rid of them. But also because she has inherited my love for all things girly. =0) Even if she has weird nicknames for them!

You surprised, Clark?

Since Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase is a family favorite, and it's that time of year, I thought it was fitting. If you don't "get" any of my quotes or think that picture is funny, I highly recommend you watch this show. Again and again.

Last week in Primary there was a sign-up sheet going around concerning the food for the Ward Christmas party this Saturday. Of course, being in primary, all the easy stuff had already been taken up since we're always the last ones to get things like that. Anyway, I saw "gravy for 30 people" and wrote my name down really quick. Gravy's easy, I can do that. Good gravy!

Well, the activities leader called my house last night to say she would be by my house this morning to drop off the "stuff". Ooooook? Like, a brown gravy packet? Or two? Uhm, wrong. She shows up with a 20 lb. TURKEY!!!! Apparently, I missed the little part about COOKING a TURKEY and making gravy for 30 people. Why you cryin'?

So, now I am doing lots of research on how to NOT screw up a turkey. I've never cooked one before... and honestly, I was hoping that day wouldn't come for years. I am praying that I won't be crying and saying to everyone there "I knew I put it in too early!"

Any tips for me?

I wouldn't be more surprised if I woke up and my head was sewn to the carpet!

Head, shoulders, knees and toes

knees and toes, knees and toes.

Head, shoulders, knees and toes

eyes, ears, mouth and nose.... and booger and booger!

This is what Macey sang (while pointing to each of her nostrils respectively) tonight. Awesome.

What a pair.

This is probably the only time Lucy will willingly go near Macey... when she's not a threat, just a warm body to cuddle.

Why?

My visiting teacher was pointing out that kids have a 50/50 chance of putting their shoes on the right feet.... well then, why is it that 99.9% of the time they put them on the wrong feet?

SO TRUE.

Yay! Boo.

I haven't unpacked a thing from our trip. Boo.

My new Christmas tree is up, with my new(er) decorations. Yay!

I wasn't feeling well on Black Friday, so Randy got up and waited in line at Home Depot to get said tree.... at 6 in the morning. He got the last one (7.5 ft fir shute tree, led lights, regularly $200, on sale for $50). Boo for being sick, but Yay! for Randy!

We had an awesome Thanksgiving dinner. 2 turkeys, 1 ham, gallons of mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls and a plethora of desserts. Yay!

The one thing I kept going back for at T-day dinner.... was the pickles. Boo. (pregnancy!)

I went and bought my own bottle of pickles... and now they are all gone, and I am stuck at home without a car today. Boo.

Chuck is on tv tonight. Yay!

I can't find out the gender of this baby until Dec. 15th, I'll be 23 weeks. Boo.

Macey slept in this morning until 9:30! Yay!

My house is messy. Boo.

We came back from our trip, and what do you suppose we found? The smart mousey in a trap! YAY!

Lucy the kitty is a cuddler, and is sleeping on my lap as I type this. Yay!

There is no snow on the ground. Boo.

Time to go start on my to-do list. Boo. But hopefully Yay! for the end result.