Update . . . sort of . . . I guess

In case anyone is nervously biting their nails wondering why I post so infrequently of late, I thought I best let you all know that I am still here. I am very super tired and very super busy, but I am here and I do still love to unwind each day by checking if any of you have new posts (using helpful little google reader). Life is crazy and also stressful lately, BUT it did occur to me as I was standing at the washing machine pulling out laundry yesterday that I am happy. It is a nice feeling to know that even if the things you are stressed about go very wrong indeed, you are still ok, and you are still very happy with what you have in life and that really, down the road, it will all be fine.

Does anyone remember Elder Holland’s talk in conference long ago about driving down some highway and remembering back to years earlier when he and his wife were young and broke and moving? Their car had broken down and he had to walk for gas or something. He felt so discouraged at the time and thinking back on it as he drove down that road much older and wiser, he felt like he could see himself – that discouraged young man walking down that road, and he wished he could stop and tell his young self to cheer up, it would all turn out alright in the end. I probably did a horrible job of describing that, but I loved that talk so much, and sometimes I feel like I can see the old me – years from now – telling this now me, “cheer up, it will all come right in the end.” I am so lucky and so blessed I feel like crying.

So, I may be a little scarce on my blog for a time – then again, I may not, who knows, but if I am, well, you’ll know why. It might help that THIS came today. I was so excited and my kids took turns taking pictures of the opening process. I showed them the screen and where you use your finger as the mouse and then I was like, “Hmmm, now what,” because I have no idea how you get a computer up and going. As soon as my poor work late husband is around, I will be using this!

Because I had nothing specific to post, I am just putting a few random things on here. These are some aprons my sister Shannon made for my girls. It was a long time ago and I’m sure they are supposed to tie them in back, but they were wearing them yesterday and I thought once again how darn cute they are (both the aprons and my girls). They are especially good for when we are doing things like sugar cookies because flour tends to get all over their clothes with out a nice little apron. (Yesterday we were actually making cinnamon rolls – don’t ask me why in the midst of my busyness I felt like I absolutely had to make homemade cinnamon rolls!! You know, where you have to use yeast and let your dough rise and punch it down and rise it again, etc., etc. Why oh why).

Also, Penny, bless my little angel’s heart, has turned into a bit of a monster lately. She won’t learn to say a word and she spends most of the day scream yelling because she is not happy with what ever we are giving or doing for her – or possibly not giving or doing for her. She throws her food off her high chair and scream yells because she wants it to be something else, she tears apart the house like nothing I’ve ever seen – reaching and pulling pans of cinnamon rolls off the counter, finding an open bathroom door and pulling toilet paper everywhere along with dumping out the garbages, emptying things out of every single drawar and cupboard in our house – and then of course screaming and yelling when we stop her. Ohhh, I do love my very awful little monster. Here is a picture of her from the other day. She was very angry up on the couch with me, so I set her on the floor – thinking perhaps she wanted to crawl away. This was the face she gave me before some more yelling. It was as if she were saying, “Are you serious? Is this what you thought would make me happy? Come on, mom! Think for once!”

And here is a sad little picture. Abe was watering the lawn as Penny crawled around outside. Suddenly I heard Penny start to cry and Abe nervously said, “Mom, Penny got . . . wet.” Yes, it appears she did.