Simple Joys of Life

There is this really cool stoplight that we live by (for 4 more days). I know you're probably wondering why the heck I'm writing about a stoplight. But the truth is, it really is cool and I want to pause and take a moment to write about it before we move away and I forget all about the joy it gives us. Those who know us well know that we live in Peoria (West side!) and that both of our parents live in East Mesa/Gilbert area. This means that we often find ourselves traveling the good 45 minute drive across the valley. Most of the time we get home at night and this is how our love of "the stoplight" began. When we exit the 101 to get off at Northern, we turn left to get home. Most people turn left, step on the gas, get to the red light, stop and wait. Also, most people go in the left lane since it pinches down shortly after the intersection due to construction. However, there is a trick that we know that apparently nobody else understands. If you lay off the gas and go just a little slower than normal, you won't ever have to stop. The light turns green just as you are entering the intersection. So that is what we do. We creep along and watch everybody stopped in the left lane as we fly by in the right lane and totally burn them. It is even easier to time at night because you can see the opposite stoplights changing as you approach the intersection. Anyway, for some crazy reason, I love the feeling of being all slow as the other cars pass me and then speeding up and blowing by them right as the light changes. And for those who don't enjoy speeding (only 45mph, don't worry) past other cars, there is a practical side for loving "the stoplight" It reduces the wear on your brakes. So, that is my story of "the stoplight". If you get the privilege to be over here on the West side, try it out and experience the magic of one of the simple joys of life.

Three Down, One to Go

This morning Spencer set out at 5:00AM as a pilot with an instrument rating. He came home around noon with a commercial rating! This means that he can get paid to fly. It also means that he only has one more rating to earn (Certified Flight Instructor, CFI) and he'll be done with school! I'm slightly excited. Three down, one to go.

Genius

Braden is starting to learn letter recognition. He is really good with R and A and S and Q especially, but he's starting to recognize many of them. He told me today that his favorite letter is Q. We have a wooden letter puzzle that we practice with him. It's so cool to watch him soak information up like a sponge. He seems to learn really well with the puzzles. We taught him some world landmarks (Leaning Tower of Pisa, Great Sphinx, Statue of Liberty etc) with one of those puzzles when he was like 21 months or so and he still remembers all of them to this day. It's kind of nice because I have found those puzzles for many different subjects and they aren't too expensive. Maybe we'll practice the states and continents after he masters his letters (and then I can learn them too). What can I say? Braden's a genius!

Amusing

Jade has this "funny face" that she does on command. We say, "Show us your funny face," and she scrunches up her nose and squints her eyes and bares her teeth. This pictures shows it with food all over her face (a common theme?). It's amusing.

This Gift Called "Friends"

A lot has been going on in this brain of mine and I would like to write a little about something that moving always gets me thinking about... friends. Old and new, near and far, close and out of touch, I am very blessed to have many wonderful people enter my life that I grow to call friends. As I sorted through my pictures to organize them and consolidate everything, I saw many faces of past friends. Some I still talk to and many I don't. I remembered the fun times I had with people like the time I went with Anna and Kristen and Miles and Jeremy to Marie Calendar and got a picture with our bus boy. Or the many times I got a picture with Brooke and Tammi and Lindsey at a Subway in Blythe, CA just because it was a fun tradition. Or the pictures of Brooke on her surprise birthday excursion with Lindsey, Trevor, Aric, and Shawn at the zoo wearing a neck and leg brace and a Special Olympics t-shirt... Peter and his cane... rocking with Jenni at an AquaBats concert... or hangin' with Alisa, Tiffany, and Kara at the hotel. Then I saw pictures from college days. All the kids from the U7 ward... Tiffany, Amy, Bill, Bryant, Gerald, Steven, John, Geoff, and Cody... Kevin, Lucas, Josh, Tara, Emily, Brandy Jo and so many others. There was a picture of Brooke and I on the last day we were roommates... sitting on the top of the washer and dryer smiling, but knowing that things were going to change in a short time. Then come the pictures of my best friend who also happens to be my husband. There are pictures from when we are just married, ready for a pork dinner, but disappointed by the stark realization that Pyrex dishes explode when you broil them in the oven and that after a glass dish that is holding your pork explodes, you don't eat the pork. I remember the friends I had from that time of our life, a time when I finally remembered that I needed other friends. There were Dave and Tera, Amy, Sharon, Laura and all the book club folks. It was this time that I realized that a friend didn't always have to be a peer. I started truly valuing the young and the old alike. Then we moved again. This time there was Jamie and Dallas, Stephanie, Tiffany, Terin, and Audrey. But we didn't stay long and we had to make new friends. I have many friends here now and I am starting to feel again like I will be losing part of me when I move. Unfortunately I don't have the capacity to stay connected with every person that I end up caring about and calling a friend. Luckily, I have noticed that with each new place and in each situation I will be able to stay close with one or two friends and when that happens, I believe it is something pretty special. I often think about the influence for good that individuals have had on me, and I hope that I have been as good a friend to those people as they have to me. I have been touched by so many lives and I truly love this gift that we are given... this gift called "friends".

My Sister

Well, tomorrow is Chelsea's birthday so I thought I'd write a little blog about her. Lets see... where to begin. I remember when she was born. I was so thrilled to be having a baby sister. She was a fairly big baby, although not huge. She kind of looked like a disgruntled caterpillar for the first week of her life... all pudgy and scowling like. However, after that she really did become a beautiful butterfly. She was a very cute baby and toddler and very affectionate and loving to all of us in the family. She made up songs to sing to us and left us love notes. She's still really good at being thoughtful like that (although it's been awhile since she sang me a goodnight song from a trundle bed beside mine). So anyway, as she grew up she was always a sweet girl and a beautiful girl. Of course, there was that "ugly stage" that all little girls go through, but Chelsea (although she would be modest and tell you differently) didn't stay in that stage very long. She sailed on through to becoming a very very lovely women. But enough about how gorgeous Chelsea is, anyone who's ever seen her would know that... lets talk about something that matters. Chelsea has a great personality. She is very genuine and doesn't really mess around. She seems to like and get along with almost everybody that she meets, but she is not afraid to let people know how she feels about things. This is a great quality because there is really no guessing game with her. I remember a couple times when this may have hurt a love-smitten guys feelings, but in all it has resulted in nothing but good. What else? Chelsea is very practical about things in her life. She is good at seeing a goal off in the distance and determining which choices will get her to her goal, and then she follows through. She's a very hard worker and isn't really content just chillin' when there are things to be done (most of the time). She is completely reliable. In fact, I can't even recall a time when she had said she would do something and then just didn't do it. Another thing I love about Chelsea is that she has a true desire to do what is right in all instances. I can say that I know of no time when she has wanted to play on the "edge" with rules or her standards. Because of this desire, she seeks the Lord's direction in her life and in her choices and is a powerful example to me. I love her so much and I think that Darren is pretty much the luckiest guy in the world to be married to her. And as for me, I am still so thrilled to have a baby sister. I will always be grateful for the blessing it is to have her as my sister.

Together We Are Better

Wow! They say time flies when you are having fun and I guess that's true. Mine and Spencer's 4th anniversary is tomorrow. It seems like we just got married and then it also seems like we've been together for a lifetime... so much has happened. Thankfully I feel even more in love with him than I did when we were "newly-weds". We still have a lot of growing to do, but our understanding of one another is increasing all the time. As we go through life together and experience things with one another our bond grows stronger. I have a sense that we can make it through anything, something I didn't have when we had first been married. Marriage really can be wonderful. I think, like many things in life, the outcome relates a lot to what I am willing to put into it. When I am grouchy and snappy and critical, it is really hard for me to feel the love that Spencer has for me. But when I focus on all the good things he does and the hard work he completes and the many admirable qualities that he has, I not only feel his love for me, I see it. If I had to pick a favorite thing about being married to Spencer I think it would be how we complement each other. We are two very different people, so there is so much that we can offer to each other. He helps me appreciate things that I didn't think about before, and I help him see things in different ways too. We make a very well-rounded team when we work together at life. To put it simply; together we are better.

Packing Up and Throwing Things Out

Moving... what a joy. We will be moving at the end of the month and I'm actually quite excited. There is one thing I really like about moving. You get to see EVERYTHING that you own and decide, "Is this something I really need to keep?" and ,"Do I want to go through the trouble of moving this?" And while you are making these decisions, you also get to think on all the memories that each item gives you. I was going through a bottom drawer of a dresser that I was selling. In it I found so many pictures and programs and things that made me remember many fun times with friends and family. It was fun to look at, but it made me realize that, despite my previous perception that I was good at letting go of things, I am actually a huge pack rat. I mean, do I really need every program from my band and symphony concerts from high school? I haven't even looked at those since the night they happened. There were itinerary's from band trips, rewards I had received in elementary school for having a clean desk (if my teacher could only see me now), and various other junk. I also found, a valentine from a bishop that I had when I was 8. Not 18, 8! That was like 16 years ago! I have heard from all the experts on organizing that people keep things because it reminds them of enjoyable times in their life. But, the experts also say that if the item hasn't been looked at or used in the last year, you need to part with it. So, with this move I will be doing just that, packing up and throwing things out!

Arizona Rain

I love the feeling that we get here in the Phoenix area when it rains. It's like the feeling you get when you take out your coat for the first time in the winter and find something in it's pocket. You've gone without it all of these months and you almost forgot how wonderful it is, but now that it's back you just want to jump up and down with joy. For most of the U.S., rain is no big thing, but for us... well it's different. Maybe it's because we only get an average 28 days of precipitation per year as compared to the national average of 101 days. All I know is, us Phoenicians really come alive with a good rain. Let me give you an example. Tonight it started raining right after we were done with dinner. We still had about an hour before the kids had to go to bed, so we were just looking out the windows with them and talking to them about rain. Jade started getting all antsy. She began pointing to the sliding glass door handle and shaking her head up and down. So, we decided to go out and enjoy the weather. We started off just holding both kids so they wouldn't get wet, but by the time we were done, Braden was running around wearing his birthday suit and Jade was stripped down to her diaper. Braden was squealing with delight and saying over and over, "I'm getting a shower!". It started coming down harder, so we came inside, bundled up the kids, and got them in their PJ's. We still had some time, so we made some hot chocolate and gathered together and Spencer and I told some impromptu stories about two little kids named Braden and Jade. Then as we went upstairs to tuck them in, we saw a double rainbow gracing the sky with it's beauty. I went outside and smelled the clean air and that wet palo verde tree smell and I thought about how much I love a good Arizona rain.