Four

I was tagged by my wonderful sis!

4 jobs I have had: pizza maker, bank teller, college recruiter, and mom

4 movies I can watch over and over: You've Got Mail, Lord of the Rings, White Christmas, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe

4 places I have lived: Washington, Indiana, Virginia, Utah

4 favorite foods: cookie dough, dal makhani (indian food), ricotta cheese, mom's homemade bread

4 favorite TV shows: House, Alias, The Bob Newhart Show, Gilmore Girls

4 places I'd rather be: I'm happy right where I am, but maybe my old house in Seattle, asleep in my bed, or on a Mediterranean cruise

4 places I've been: Hungary, Italy, Austria, Canada

Our Poor SHORT Kids!

Reese and I knew when we married that our children would inevitably be shrimps. Tay and Dak both fall in the 3rd percentile in height and weight. Payte and Tagg are GiAnTs compared to them, as they fall in the 25th and 40th percentiles respectively. What is so unfortunate about this is that Tay and Dak will soon be looking UP to their next youngest sibling. I am often asked if I have TwO sets of twins!
Last week Tay, my almost 7 year old, went to a Summer camp at a nearby private school. One of the kids asked, "How old ArE you, 3?" She responded, "I do NOT look like I'm 3! I look like I'm 4." I guess she's pretty comfortable with her height if she can admit she looks like a four year old:) So funny!

Tay and her sweet friend Lauren Chapman (same age)
Payte and Tay

This is Dak and Tagg a month and a half ago. Dak IS slouching but Tagg will catch him in no time.

Happy Father's Day Honey! I LOVE you!

I know everyone says that their husband or father is the world's greatest Dad. Well, they are wrong because Reese IS the best Dad EVER! I could go on and on about why. One thing that he is really great at is making his time with our children QUALITY time. Work has kept him away from home a lot this year. There has been a lot of traveling and late evenings at the office. But, when he IS home he makes every minute count. Our evenings are filled with reading, wrestling, biking, swimming (I don't participate in that one), laughing, and talking. Even at the park you'll find him climbing all over the playground as he chases them. Reese never wears out. Mommy seems so boring after a few hours with Dad. He also knows just the right thing to say to help our children understand and solve the problems they face. They love him so much and trust him completely. They know they can count on him to do the right thing and that in turn helps them to choose the right. I love him so much too! He really is the best dad! We are SO lucky to have you honey!

Upbraideth Not!

A few hours after church yesterday I got a call from a cute little black lady in our ward. Her name is Renee. She is probably in her late thirties and is the sweetest little thing. She carries a different picture each week, usually a flower that she has drawn, in a Wal-Mart bag and gives it to someone that is visiting ,or someone she thinks needs a little extra happiness in their day. The other thing is that she clearly has some mental and social disablities.

The first thing she said to me in her sweet southern drawl was, "Now I love ya and I don't want ya to be mad at me ya hear? So don't me mad, ya hear? Are ya gonna be mad?" I assured her that I wouldn't be mad. She then quoted a James 1:5 "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and UPBRAIDETH NOT; and it shall be given him. "

Then she said, "The Lord is not happy with you. He loves you, but you been braidin' your girls' hair and He don't like that, ya hear! He says, upbraideth not. Now ya gotta stop doin' those braids. Now don't be mad, ya know I love ya like a daughter." I tried to cut in and tell her I wan't upset, but she went on and on about how she and Jesus loved me, and how she loved my daughters' hair, except of course when it was in braids. It was all I could do to hold back my laughter! I maybe should have helped her understand what that scripture really meant, but I didn't know what to say at the moment. I'll either have to explain it to her later or stop braiding my kids' hair for church:)

Since I was on the subject of hair I thought I'd add a picture of Tagg. I recently decided to grow his hair out and discovered his beautiful curls! I have no idea where they came from.

Rainy Days and Mondays

Does anyone know this song? It's by "The Carpenter's," who my mom loves. In it she says, "rainy days and Mondays always get me down." I personally LOVE rainy days. I miss the endless clouds and rain of Seattle. This Florida sunshine has been hard on me. However, I REALLY don't like Mondays. Even as a kid I experienced sleepless Sunday nights, dreading the beginning of a new week. Wow! I sound like I need therapy!
Anyway, I feel like I've had a lot of Mondays lately. When it rains it pours. I won't get into everything that has happened, and none of it's awful awful. But I will say, to those of you who knew I was pregnant, that I miscarried early last week. It didn't come as a shock. I was actually expecting it to happen. We knew from the beginning that the baby wasn't developing properly. I'm sad, yes, but relieved at the same time. I spent so much energy worrying and hoping, and now that burden is no longer there. I'm still young too. I have plenty of time to have that big family I've always dreamed of. Plus I still have four beautiful, healthy children and a wonderful husband.
Does anyone feel bad for feeling sad? I do. If I get upset when something goes wrong, I feel like I need a big slap in the face to remind me how tremendously blessed I am. When I realize how much I HaVe been given I start to feel bad that I had wanted more. I feel so selfish and ungrateful!
Well, now onto my frivolous problem. With each of my four pregnancies I have gained about 15 pounds in the first three to four months and maybe 4 pounds after that. It's awful! I look like a blimp during the first trimester. Then, suddenly, the weight comes off my face, arms, etc, and goes to my belly where it should be. I gained a good seven pounds while I was pregnant for those ten weeks. I NEED to get it off now. I'm starting tomorrow since I can't start today (it's my birthday). I'm also putting a weight tracker on my blog to keep me motivated. I've done the South Beach Diet in the past. It works for me, so here I go again. Anyone want to join in?
Sorry, no pictures in this post. I look and feel like a SLOB! Oh, and sorry for all the whining.