Happy

I look at my life and can't help but be happy. Everything I have done has brought me to this point in my life. The horrible decisions that I look back on with sadness and the decisions that brought me great happiness have made me who I am today. And I am happy with this person. Sometimes I still do stupid things, say the wrong thing at the wrong time or just blow it, but I know that those who love me will forgive me. And those who are going to let who I am or what I believe affect their feelings or respect for me probably aren't people I should be around anyway.

So I look around me and I see my family whom I couldn't love any more if I tried. I see a wonderful, caring, loving, hilarious husband and wonderful father. I see a little boy who is full of energy, testing his limits, handing out hugs left and right, and loves to play games. I see two girls who are learning who they are, one is shy, the other little miss independent. One with a flair for the dramatic, a love of books, a deep affection for all things stuffed and a tendency to follow the crowd. The other is one tough cookie, a HUGE risk taker, a major snuggler and a social butterfly. I helped make this family and they couldn't be more beautiful.

We may not have a ton of money, a large, beautiful house and we give up things for ourselves so our children can have more, but we are still happy. We have fun together. There is a lot of laughter in our house. Love lives here.

Be Happy Song of the Day: Say Hey (I Love You) by Michael Franti and Spearhead

Today's Smileys:

1. A Father and Son spending the afternoon together.


3. The unadultered joy of a 3 year old.


3. Spending time together as a family, even if it is just for a few minutes.

4. Mari's first ponytail.

5. Having twins.

6. Mari taking care of me and tucking me in with her stuffed animals.

7. My parents taking the kids over the night tonight so Jake has a chance to work on projects around the house tomorrow.

8. The girls waving bye to me on their way out to the van. They were all excited to go to Grandpa and Grandma's and would turn around on their way down the sidewalk and yell, "BYE MOM!" and wave to me. Way too cute.

9. Getting some quiet time today.

10. Jake picking up Pride & Prejudice from the library for me.

11. Realizing how lucky we are to want the same things and that the most important of those things is time together as a family.

Finally Friday

I had a doctor's appointment today as a follow up to my SI Joint cortisone shot. The doctor I saw was a pain management doctor and she basically said that I need to stay off my feet as much as possible, try not to limp (WAY easier said then done) and continue to try to keep my pelvis in alignment until I have my appointment with the hip specialist. If I do all of that, I should be much better by the time the shot wears off and not need any more.

Be Happy Song of the Day: Accidentally in Love by the Counting Crows

My Smileys of the day:

1. Popcorn and a movie.

2. My iPod Touch so I had something to do while I waited a half hour for my appointment this afternoon.

3. Taking a nap.

4. Cheddarwurst

5. Mari's joy at seeing that I was awake from my nap.

6. The girls petting Jesse and giving him kisses.

7. Peder's sweetness with his sisters. He gave Emmy the rest of his cookie when hers was all gone.

8. Mari reading in bed. This is what I saw when I walked into her room while Jake was changing Emmy's diaper after they had been in bed for about an hour. I asked her what she was doing and she said, "Reading the book." Very, VERY cute!

Smiles

Today was a pretty good day. I am stressing a little bit because our Chrysler dealership is one that Chrysler wants to close. This stresses me out because of some of the things we were promised when we bought the van 2 years ago, like life time free oil changes. In order to qualify for that you have to do your regular maintenance with the dealership and we've been doing it for the last 2 years. If it closes I'm going to feel a little lost and little annoyed about that.

Today's Be Happy song of the day: Rock & Roll by Eric Hutchinson

Today's Smileys:

1. A visit from Leslie. She brought us supper and hung out for awhile. I got to chat with her and the kids showered her with attention. I know we enjoyed having her and it sure seemed like she enjoyed being here. :)

2. A card in the mail saying I was being thought of and prayed for. It warmed my heart.

3. A REALLY good morning this morning. I made it until lunch time with very well controlled pain and barely limping. It was SO nice.

4. Peder's confusion over no longer having quiet time. Super cute.

5. The girls playing peek together on the couch.

6. A nice dinner that we only have to throw in the oven. Gives Jake some time to do other things since I can't do much around the house.


7. The kids wrestling with Jake and all 4 of them giggling away!

8. Getting into my scrap area for a little bit. I finished one layout and then Jake caught me overdoing it. :) He yelled up the stairs, "Meliss, are you overdoing it?" To which I responded, "Maybe...." That resulted in me being told to get back downstairs and sit on the couch. LOL....oops. :)

9. Jake making chocolate chip cookies because I said that I wanted some to celebrate National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day tomorrow. He's so sweet.

10. Naked baby butts walking into the bathroom for their bath.

11. Bath and Body Works Shower Gel

12. PartyLite candles

Happy Birthday Mom!

I'm exhausted today. It's a good exhaustion though, because we went up to my parents' house to celebrate my mom's birthday. We weren't there for long, but everyone seemed to have a good time and we got a good meal out of the deal.

Today's Be Happy Song of the Day: Happy Girl by Martina McBride

Today's smileys:

1. Jake working from home and changing all the diapers for me. One less thing to put stress on my hip.

2. My mom's birthday and the fact that we were able to make it up there this time.

3. Megan's "Windows Down" playlist. We started listening to it on our trip to and from my parents'. I say started because it's 6 CDs long and we got through 1 and a half.

4. Seeing my sister and Randy one last time before they move to Pennsylvania.

5. A surprise phone call that a friend is bringing us dinner for tomorrow night. Two nights in a row of not having to cook....Jake's getting a much deserved break!

6. The fact that Peder asks me to sing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star to him every night before he goes to sleep. I get a big hug from him the whole time. It's very sweet.

7. The shocked and worried look on Mari's face when Grandpa knocked over the row of dominoes. Then the excitement when she realized that it was supposed to happen!

8. Peder loving being at my parents' house so much that he doesn't want to leave.

9. My little beggar children going from adult to adult asking for bites of their strawberry pie.

Let's Be Honest

Ok, let's be honest. This pain is turning me into a crab. I'm struggling to find things to smile about and am having mini breakdowns on a regular basis. I'm feeling a bit defeated and discouraged. Add to that the fact that today has been the most painful day I've had since my cortisone shot kicked in and it makes for emotional frailty and fast tears. This isn't easy. I am FORCING myself to find things to smile about and am hoping that by continuing to do so my mood will be lifted. So there, an honest assessment of how I'm doing. Now for the the things that make me smile.

My Be Happy song of the day: Boys with Girlfriends by Meiko

My Smileys of the day:

1. Insight from book club that brings peace with it.

2. My book group friends. A lot of us arrived crabby and we were still able to laugh a lot.

3. Brownies

4. Sudoku to take my mind off the pain

5. Discovering there are adult versions of the choose your own story books of our youth.

6. The kids playing with their baby dolls.

7. Taking a nap.

8. Friends who listen.

9. Bedtime hugs and kisses

10. Watching The Biggest Loser with Jake

I'm such a cliche

As in, I hate Mondays. The kids are sad that Daddy is back at work. It's difficult to get back into our routine...even if we don't have much of a routine left right now. We're all exhausted from the weekend and everyone seems to be just a bit crabby, including me.

My Be Happy song of the day: "Stupid Boy" by the Gear Daddies

My smileys for today:

1. Friends to vent with and to.

2. My mom. She's really nice and we rarely ever fight.

3. Jake bringing home Reese's peanut butter cup miniatures and Twizzlers for comfort food for me.

4. Mari's deep need for her Mommy today. We spent a lot of time snuggling and talking.

5. Peder comforting me today during a difficult time with pain, he truly is the sweetest boy. "Mommy, do you need a hug?"

6. My Be Happy song list and all the suggestions I've gotten for it!

7. Emmy's bravery with the vacuum and her excitement over it.

8. Scented body lotion, it makes me feel partially human.

9. One Minute Hand Scrub from Bath & Body Works, it's amazing what it can do for your hands!

10. Thoughts from my book group book.

11. Brothers and Sisters that love hanging out together (Jake took this picture while I was trying to nap on the couch. All three kids sitting in the front door looking at our front porch).

Happy Mother's Day

Today has been a painful day. I was able to make it to church, even though it was a difficult thing to sit for that hour and I eventually stopped standing up to sing, it was nice to get there. I've been wanting to go, but have been unable to. I spent the rest of the day on the couch, but it was worth it.

Things that made me smile today:

1. All three kids laying on the air mattress with me after breakfast this morning.


2. The look on Megan's face when the projector at church went into stand by mode. I had to contain my laughter. :)

3. Downloading new songs to my iPod Touch. I love that thing. Right now I'm trying to only do HAPPY, upbeat songs. Suggestions are more then welcome, especially if you have a song that you hear that ALWAYS gets you smiling or dancing.

4. Mari's great love of shoes.

5. Emmy's great love of hats.

6. Peder helping his sister up when she fell over. He's a sweet big brother.

7. A delicious Mother's Day dinner. Chicken, cheesy potatoes and corn. YUM-O!

8. Playing catch with Emmy today and her bubbling giggles.

9. Our church praying for my hip and the offers of help.

10. The "train" making it's way through our house. Mari is the engine, Jake and Emmy are the passenger cars and Peder is the caboose. Very cute.


11. A sweet husband.

12. Being a Mommy.

Ups and Downs

Today has been a difficult day because I've been dealing with a lot of pain. But I still have wonderful moments of happiness. I have really been appreciating my bright spots lately and am SO in love with my family, it's probably a bit nauseating for everyone else to listen to!


Today's smileys:


1. "Say Hey (I love you)" by Michael Franti and Spearhead. Seriously, this song makes us all dance....even if it means moving my arms around like Mari and Emmy because I can't get up to do it.


2. Peder picked out Madagascar 2 to give to me for Mother's Day. It's cute and hilarious all at once. We will be watching it tonight at our slumber party.


3. Our annual Mother's Day slumber party. Peder and I started the tradition last year and will be continuing it tonight. Next year the girls will be old enough to join us. We have so much fun watching movies, eating popcorn and snuggling on the air mattress.

4. I got an iPod Touch for Mother's Day. I LOVE IT! Seriously, it's SO nice. I will now have something small to keep in my purse for scheduling all of our appointments. Plus it has an address book, internet accessible through any wi-fi, email, weather and I added a lists application. SO COOL!


5. Chipotle for lunch. YUM-O!


6. I got my mom's birthday present today and I think she is going to LOVE it.

7. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. I've had discussions about the addictive properties of the minis. I think it applies to all chocolate and peanut butter cup sizes. I CRAVE them, constantly.

8. Cheeseburgers off the grill for supper. (Huh, just realized a lot of my smileys today have to do with food. LOL....I find that SO typical.)

9. Lidocaine Patches. I know I've said it before, but it bears repeating today. Necessary and helpful.

Fabulous Friday

My Fabulous Friday Smileys:

1. My parents came to visit and the kids were SO happy. Stampedes to the doorway. Mari adoring Grandma. Emmy pushing Grandma out of the way to get to Grandpa. Peder talking their ears off. And cute new jammies and outfits for all 3 kids.

2. Free HBO all weekend on DirecTV. Time to load up the DVR for rainy nights this summer!

3. I called my new doctor's office this morning to check for cancellations and my appointment is now scheduled for July 2nd....3 WEEKS EARLIER! Yes, I will be calling again next week, but I was SO excited by that news this morning that if I could have I would have done a happy dance! WA-HOO!

4. Sleeping in bed again last night and being able to cuddle with Jake. We both missed it! It took awhile to get comfortable enough to sleep (it took an ice pack on the hip for that to happen), but I slept much better last night then I had been on the couch.

5. Hearing Mari yell, "EMMY!" while they are supposed to be napping.

6. Grey's Anatomy. I LOVE THIS SHOW! And I am really liking Carev.

7. Peder pulling Mari around the house in the wagon.

8. The girls waving bye-bye to me as they walk into another room....or two feet from me....then two more feet....etc.

9. Peder eating a water chestnut at supper and doing the typical "kid eating something they think is disgusting" facial expressions and gagging.

10. Emmy giving Mari hugs.

11. That 70's Show. Always makes me smile.

12. Jake's Mickey Mouse voice

Keeping it up

So I've decided to keep up the power of positive thinking. This is something we discussed at book group this week and I'm implementing it to make it through the pain and my days. Biggest thing: I'm going to think positively about their being a cancellation at the doctor's office so I can get in before July 22nd. Let's go positive thinking!

My smiley moments for the day:

1. Waking up in the middle of the night to Peder crawling onto the couch next to me to snuggle. This morning he told me he had a bad dream and told me he was happy I was on the couch to snuggle with.

2. Waking up in the middle of the night to Jake snuggled up next to me on the couch. He came downstairs to go to the bathroom and told me he missed me and wanted to cuddle for a bit. (Can you tell I have very sweet men in my life?)

3. Getting the pictures I ordered in the mail. 630 pictures for Peder's scrapbooks. I am now caught up on printing out pictures for Emmy and Peder through December 2008. Now to get started on printing off some more Mari pictures!

4. Having Savory Chicken (formerly Egg Noodle Chicken) by Kraft for lunch. It's a childhood favorite of mine, kind of a comfort food, and the kids LOVED it. Now Jake is the only one in the house that doesn't like it. Good thing we have lunches without daddy 4 days a week.

5. Being able to hang outside with the kids, even if I only observed from my hammock (and had to be helped getting into and out of it, etc.).

6. Getting lots of love and affection from all my kiddos during random "pauses" in play time.

Mari was my biggest snuggler today. She threw an absolute fit when she couldn't get into the hammock right away.

The girls.....I love getting lots of love!

Mari being so cute.

7. Peder's never ending energy...and the lovely outfit he picked out by himself today.

8. Emmy's crazy hair. Her hair is ALWAYS a mess, even when it's combed.

9. Eating supper outside.

10. Overheard conversations with a 3 year old. Peder's quote of the day, "Daddy, is my poop swimming?" Sorry if that offends some of you, but I thought it was HILARIOUS! I'm still laughing about it and that's why it HAD to be on my list today.

Positive Thinking

I've been really crabby and down in the dumps lately because of the pain I've had over the last 3 weeks. Although the 2 cortisone shots I had have helped, I continue to be in enough pain that I spend almost 24 hours a day on the couch. I even change the girls' diapers there so I don't have to get on the floor. The good news is that it sounds like it is a cam lesion that is causing all of this and that it can most likely be surgically repaired. The bad news is that I have to wait until July 22nd to see the only surgeon in the area that does this kind of procedure arthroscopically. Major bummer, but at least we have the next step in place.

So because of the grumpiness, I've decided to make a list of things that made me smile today:

1. Emmy asking for a high five after every kiss she gave me....even if she just blew me one.
2. Sonic ice cream treats to help with the heart burn this pain med is causing me....and a husband who will go get them for me at 9:30 at night.
3. A husband who will was my hair for me when I can't do it on my own.
4. Every single one of my kids wanting to cuddle with me after their baths. Every time the kids take a bath, I get a ton of snuggle time from little cuties wrapped in towels.
5. Finding new things to fill my time.
6. Watching a couple of interesting/good movies today
7. Pizza delivery
8. Lidocaine patches
9. Seeing other people very happy with their lives. Lots of my friends seem to be bubbling with joy and it's nice to have that bubble over to me.
10. Tri Towers Solitaire on Facebook....addicting

So there ya go....some good things going on during a bad situation. I've become a lot more appreciative of those joys!

Desperate

That is what I'm feeling right now. Desperate. Desperate to be without pain. It has been almost 2 weeks now of complete and utter pain. I can make it to the bathroom without crutches, but that's about it. Anywhere else I go, the crutches take me there.

Starting two weeks ago tomorrow I started having very severe pubic bone and pelvic pain after doing really well for about a month. Last Thursday it got to the point where I was considering going into the ER to get some help with the pain. Friday morning I called my orthopedist and she gave me a prescription for Lidocaine patches and wanted to see me on Monday. Monday afternoon she did a brief assessment, which mostly consisted of her seeing me in tears from the pain, and decided we would do one of two treatment plans. She wanted me to go to my physical therapy appointment that evening and find out if my hips were out of alignment. If they were, I was going to be scheduled for a cortisone shot into my SI joint. If they weren't and my alignment looked good, I was going to be scheduled for an MRI of my left hip and get a cortisone shot into the front of my hip.

I went to my PT appointment and I was out of alignment, but just a hair. My physical therapist didn't think this was what was causing my sever pain, so she did some tests on my hip. Her conclusion is that she thought I needed both things done and she said that she would call my doctor to let her know that.

So Tuesday morning I had my MRI and my cortisone shot. The cortisone shot was actually easier to handle then the MRI, because laying completely flat with my legs straight is VERY painful on my hip. The shot gave me some relief but only in a very specific part of my hip. It can take up to 7 days to get the full effect, so I'm hoping by next Tuesday it will be helping even more.

Fastforward to this morning and my MRI follow up with my doctor. The MRI showed a Cam Lesion (pictured below, the lesion is the shaded area and is extra bone on the hip).

My orthopedist did not think that this would be causing the amount of pain I am having and if it was the pain would have been helped more by the cortisone shot. So we're back to square one of not knowing what is going on. This was very disappointing to her and upsetting to me. We were both hoping that it would show SOMETHING, we could fix it and then I could get on the road to recovery and a pain free life.

Since that didn't work, we're on to the next step. Tomorrow morning at 9:45a I will be getting a cortisone shot into my SI joint. This is a very painful procedure and I will be sedated for it. At the same time the doctor will be assessing my SI joint to see if she can maybe figure out the cause of my pain. Then on Monday I will be seeing the hip specialist at Summit Orthopedics. The hope there is that he will have more ideas as to what could be causing my issues and we'll get some answers.

Right now I am just trying to make it through the pain. I am not my normal self. If you encounter me, I'm honestly not trying to be rude, but I have very little energy left after dealing with the pain, which makes me VERY crabby. Plus I'm not sleeping well because I'm never comfortable. The little bit of patience I have left is reserved for my children, so the rest of you may experience a whole different me. I apologize in advance if I'm out of it, ignore you, don't respond to emails, phone calls or when you are speaking to me face to face, I'm probably just working really hard not to cry or yell in pain. It's nothing personal, promise.

I would really appreciate prayers for tomorrow morning and Monday. First of all, I'm terrified of needles and am freaking out a bit about having one shoved into my pelvis. Secondly, I would really like this procedure to help with the constant pain. On Monday I am hoping to get answers or at least started on tests that will give me answers.

If you made it this far, thanks for letting me get this off my chest. I'm suffering and letting that out does make me feel a bit better.

Flowers and an Idea

On Saturday night Peder stayed over at my parents' house after we had spent the day there. We were all supposed to meet for lunch, but I was unable to walk without a great deal of pain (see the crutches in the background, that's how I got around). Peder was very sad that I wasn't there to get him when Jake picked him up. As they were on their way home Peder said to Jake, "Daddy, we should get Mommy flowers." They stopped to get them and Peder picked them out all by himself. Jake provided financial backing. Seriously....he is SUCH a sweet little boy.

Me with the sweetest little boy and the flowers he brought me. You should have seen the smile on his face when he came around the corner from the kitchen with them.

The bouquet in it's place of honor. I can see them from my chair when I can't get around.

More of a close up. He picked out a bouquet with some of my favorite flowers in it. It's gorgeous!

Now onto my idea. I've been really thinking of what I can do to help with blood donation. So I have been seriously considering hosting a blood drive every January in honor of the kids. I'm thinking January because that was when Emmy received her numerous blood transfusions. I have an idea of where to have it and I am really thinking it would be a great way to help others. So I'm thinking in a couple months I'll be contacting the Red Cross to talk to someone about doing a blood drive. If it goes well, it would be my hope to have it be an annual event. Thoughts?

Easter Frills

All of our Easter baskets....only one of the three sources of too much candy.

Mari finally letting me get a picture of her...she had to have a chicken nugget to keep her smiling.

Peder was SO in love with his tie. He wanted to wear it to bed that night.

Emmy was very cooperative. She kept saying "CHEESE!" for me.

The difficult picture with all 3 kids....this is the best we could do.

We had a good Easter weekend, it was pretty exhausting but we had a ton of fun!

Time Out Grandpa!

Peder sent my dad into time out yesterday. I'm still not really sure why, but Peder was hilarious. "Grandpa TIME OUT! Go sit in the chair! No playing! NOW CRY!" HILARIOUS! So Grandpa went to the time out chair and pouted. He instantly got comfort from the girls. It was one of the funniest things I've seen lately....and I got it on camera! Love you Dad!

Nathan Andrew Trent II

Jake and I went to see our new nephew this afternoon while the kids hung out with my parents. Here are some pictures from our trip down to Red Wing. He's SO tiny, but is actually about the same size as the girls were when they were born. Like Jake said, "I always forget how small they are." He's VERY cute and only got mad at me once when I peeked under his hat to see his hair. I still can't believe how blonde he is. What a tiny little cutie and the latest addition to our family for at least the next couple of months.

Me with the little cutie...I grabbed him as soon as was polite. :)

Proud uncle Jake. Jake made him madder then I did....trying to look at his hands.
The cute little family. Tina, baby Nate and Nathan (Jake's youngest brother).

The cross stitch I made for baby Nate. Sorry about the glare, it was the best I could do.

The card I made for them. I thought it turned out pretty cute!

It was nice to go visit them and get a chance to sit and talk and snuggle with a newborn. I got my baby fix!

We're in the paper!

There is a picture of our family in the West Sherburne Tribune from the Easter Egg hunt we went to last Saturday.

I hope to add pictures from our visit with baby Nate sometime later tonight. Till then, follow the link in the newspaper title to see our family picture....we're the second picture down.

I'M AUNTIE AGAIN!

Nathan Andrew Trent II was born around 9:30 this morning.

He was born just over 2 weeks early. He weighs 5 lbs. 13 oz. and is 18 inches long.

It sounds like his mommy is doing well and she had a short labor. I'm VERY jealous of that. We're hoping to see him tomorrow afternoon or evening. I can't wait to see the little bugger!

Easter Egg Hunt

We had a busy weekend, but also had a ton of fun. On Saturday we went to the Big Lake Women of Today's Easter Egg Hunt. The kids seemed to have a good time and Mari won a prize. Emmy freaked out a little bit at first because they said parents weren't allowed in the hunting area (it was enclosed by a fence). That didn't last long...especially for me, when I heard Emmy screaming and saw the panicked look on the Ambassador's face. Mommy to the rescue. All 3 kids got a bucket full of eggs and then enjoyed lunch out with Grandpa and Grandma.

We also had a baby shower on Sunday, but I'll post pictures from that tomorrow. For now you get some kiddos on the search for candy filled eggs.

Peder waiting to get started.

Mari just wanted to run away.

Emmy snuggling with Daddy before the hunt.

You can see all 3 kids in this picture. Mari is in the middle, then Emmy is in the background a bit and Peder is just to the right of her and parallel to Mari. Emmy was not happy and this picture was the beginning of the melt down.

Mommy to the rescue, now she's happily putting eggs in her basket.

Peder proudly displaying his basket full of eggs.

Emmy with Daddy and a basket full of eggs. This is actually fun now!

Grandpa helped us open up all the eggs and dump out the candy and stickers that were inside.

Emmy very happy with one of her eggs.

Not the best picture of Mari, but I'm pretty sure she was asking for help opening an egg.

Not the best picture of me, but the kids and Grandpa are having fun opening up eggs.

Our cute little family still working on finding out what we have in the eggs. Peder has already dug into the candy.

Baskets full of candy. Mmmm, mmmm.

Mari showing me the prize she won. Mickey, Minnie and a school bus that drives by itself.

Mari and I walking back to see everyone else. She was very excited about her prize.

Mari running from Grandma and squealing with delight.

What a fun way to spend the morning! The kids had a blast and so did we. And I have to say, I thought I had the cutest kids there!

Comfort

All day today I have felt like I was hit by a truck. I've been exhausted and barely able to function. All three kids decided to "comfort" me as I was trying to fall asleep on the chaise (the stairs seemed too difficult a challenge). Here is what it looks like when you have three kids and a baby doll "comforting" you in a very small space (notice my half-lidded eyes? I was asleep before they all crawled on top of me):
Emmy giving me a hug.

So you can really tell how cramped the space was.

Can you tell that I'm loved? :)

Taking a Sabbatical

I have decided to take a sabbatical next week, at least from my "extra-curricular" activities in the evenings. No meetings, no book group, and nothing planned at night. I'll go to work on Tuesday and that's it.

We have been so busy lately that I'm exhausted, I haven't been able to get caught up around the house, and I need a bit of a break. So the things that can be set aside for a week so that I can get back on track are going to be.

I've started working on getting things back on track these last couple of days and it will be GREAT to have the time in the evenings to get caught up. LOVE IT!

Just thinking about it makes me feel better!

I seem to be random

I am starting to write posts that are just a compilation of my random thoughts or activities of the time since my last post. A lot of times when I sit down to write my blog it is at the end of the day or when I get a moment of peace, so that is never conducive to a thoughtful post about some of the things I encounter daily. If I had the ability to write daily, you would all know that I can form long complete, thoughtful posts that aren't just a bunch of jibberish. Until then you get the jibberish! :)

1. I continue to be completely enthralled with my and Jake's genealogy. I got the ancestry.com program Family Tree Maker and have been entering information since. It's pretty cool and I'm very excited. I just find it so interesting.

2. I bought the Family Tree Maker program at a "Liquidation Sale" at the St. Paul River Centre. That and the 3 pairs of sunglasses I got made the trip worth it, but we will NEVER go again. I have an issue with crowds and cannot handle strange people bumping into me. Couple that with 2 booths selling perfumes (scent overload) and several booths selling speakers (sound overload) and you get a guarantee of never seeing me at one of those again.

3. We picked out a new paint color for our kitchen walls on Friday. I think we are going to end up with a much nicer kitchen, even with just painting the cupboards and walls. We're hoping we can get some new countertops in the next couple of months too. This "remodel" is just a little project to get it looking somewhat nice until we can do the one we're planning in a couple of years.

4. A quote from the book my book group is reading right now, Speaking of Faith by Krista Tippett:

I sense that seeing the world the way God sees the world means, in part,
grieving in places the world does not forgive, and rejoicing in places the world
does not notice. It would mean, therefore, to live with a patience that
culture cannot sustain, and with a hope the world cannot imagine.

I love that quote and I see it as a great way to view life and the world. I would LOVE to say thaqt I have great patience, but I DON'T. It is something I've really been trying to work on, but seem to be failing miserably at. I told Jake the other day that I think God always puts slow drivers in front of me to teach me patience and once I learn patience I will no longer get stuck behind slow drivers (it's a joke between us, I always get stuck behind people going 10+ miles below the posted speed limit). Patience is something I REALLY want to have and am trying to learn, but struggle with on a regular basis.

I think I have a great deal of hope. This has really changed about me in recent years. I used to not be a hopeful person, a real pessimist actually, but now I see things and hope for the best. I do tend to get discouraged at times or when I see a great atrocity committed, but I really do have hope for humanity as a whole.

5. The girls had their first set of pig tails today. Pretty stinkin' cute.

6. Peder crawls into bed with us every weekend morning and snuggles between Jake and I before we head downstairs and get the girls. I love that we that and how cute he is tucked under the covers between us.

7. Jake is such a good hubby and daddy. I love watching him with the kids. They have their little routines that they do and they are just so cute when they play.