When Life Gives You Lemons...

Joshua Turns One!

2012-01-08T21:40:00.001-06:00

Well, we celebrated Joshua's first birthday the day after Christmas. It was a small party with just the grandparents, but it was perfect. He turned the charm on all night long (as usual), and really dug into his cupcake. We had so much fun celebrating with him. We love you, Joshua!

Life Doesn't Get Any Better Than This

2011-12-19T11:38:00.002-06:00

My Daughter Cracks Me Up!

2011-12-13T11:58:00.001-06:00

The topic of being good for Santa came up the other night, when Margaret started asking everyone if they had been good that day. When she got to me I told her that I had been mostly good, but that I had lost my temper a few times. She so sweetly smiled at me and exclaimed "That's okay! We can just buy you a new one!" I love this girl.

Early Resolutions

2011-12-08T16:29:00.001-06:00

As the year winds down, most of us begin to think about New Year's resolutions and what we would like to improve on over the new year. I have to admit that I am a pretty typical "resolutionist" myself: lose weight, exercise more, go to bed earlier and wake up earlier, read my scriptures more regularly, pray more often, be a better mom, etc. Well I've decided not to wait until January 1 to begin my New Year's resolutions this year. Some may wonder why there aren't any recent pictures of myself on my blog. The answer is simple enough: I am too fat and don't want my obesity recorded in the anals of history. Without revealing too much, I need to shed about 100 lbs. in order to reach my ideal weight. "Wow, surely you're exaggerating a bit, Audrey!" you might say. But I kid you not... 100 pounds!
How am I planning on reaching my goals? By working out like crazy and eating clean. Tosca Reno is my new food guru and I'm in love with everything that comes out of her mouth. If none of you have ever heard of The Eat Clean Diet, then you should check out one of her books. She's all about eating "clean" foods, the less it's processed the better, and pairing complex carbs with lean protein at every meal (all six of them.) I followed the plan for about two weeks earlier this year when I was working at UPS and I lost 20 lbs. in the process, so I know that it works. I've been doing it for about a week this time around and I've already lost 5 pounds... and I'm feeling great!

As far as exercise goes, no one gets me motivated like Cathe Friedrich. She was responsible for my weight loss a few years back, so I know that she can do it for me again. She has about 80 workout DVDs with everything ranging from step aerobics to kickboxing to weights to a 9-month cycle program. Not only are her workouts amazing, but she's amazing as well. Her body is amazing, her personality is sparkling and she really knows how to get you to want to work harder. Every workout that I do with her she absolutely kicks my behind!

I'm going to brag for just a minute and tell you about my day; one, because I'm so proud of myself and two, hopefully it'll give you a better idea about what I mean when I say eat clean.

6:30 Wake up
6:35 Yogurt and orange slices, 800 ml water
7:00 Leg and glute workout
9:30 Smoothie with banana, blueberries, almond milk, cottage cheese, oatmeal, protein powder, wheat germ and flax seed, 800 ml water
12:00 Scant handful of almonds and an apple, 800 ml water
2:30 Salmon fillet with roasted asparagus, tomatoes and 1/2 of a sweet potato, 800 ml water
4:45 Vegetable crudites with hummus, 800 ml water
7:15 Whole wheat pita with spinach, sprouts, tomatoes, apple slices, nonfat plain yogurt and water-packed tuna, 800 ml water
10:00 Scrambled egg whites with spinach, red bell pepper and garlic on multi-grain bread, 800 ml water

And that's how I've been eating for the last week! I love it! Okay, so I did have a moment of weakness the other night with that cheeseburger. I was so proud of myself because I made it through the McDonald's drive-thru with only the kids' Happy Meals, but when I got it home and started getting their food out, wouldn't you know it there was an extra cheeseburger sitting at the bottom of the bag. I checked my receipt just to make sure that my junk food subconcious didn't order it while I wasn't looking. But it wasn't on there, it was just a mistake. I actually considered taking it back to McDonald's just to get it out of the house, but I knew that they couldn't take it. So what did I do? No, but I wish I had thrown it away. I ate the darn thing! I'm just glad that it was only a cheeseburger and not a Big Mac or 1/4 Pounder! And oh, did I feel sick later. After eating clean for an entire week, that grease just did not sit well with me. Motivation to keep on chugging away!

So in a nutshell, my New Year's resolution this year is to lose 100 pounds. Lofty...yes. Challenging... without a doubt. Obtainable...you'd better believe it. Bring it on, 2012!

Silk

2011-11-19T11:13:00.001-06:00

In school this week we've been learning all about Ancient China. Part of our studies have been about the discovery of silk from the threads of the silkworm cocoons and how this affected China. This is the conversation that took place between my kids last night.
Steven: "Margaret, did you know that silk comes from wasps?"
Me: "You mean from silkworms."
Steven: "Oh yeah, from silkworms."
Margaret: "Wow!"
Steven: "Yeah, silkworms are from Ancient China."
Margaret: "But not from Texas, right, Steven?"
Steven: "Right."

Well, now I know they're listening!

Shutterfly Site

2011-11-11T18:15:00.001-06:00

I just wanted to share the link to our shutterfly site with everyone today. It's www.thesabins.shutterfly.com. For anyone who complains that I haven't put enough pics of my kids on this blog, go over to the other site. There are pics on there from 2007 to the present and even a video of me dancing while VERY pregnant on the video page. Check it out!

All Good Things Must Come to An End (Temporarily)

2011-11-07T15:40:00.000-06:00

Steven just finished his first season of soccer and he's missing it like crazy. I had no idea that the kid would take to it so much but, to be honest, I'm glad. I love seeing him so excited about sports and so excited to get ready for games and practices. I love sports myself, and we have alot of fun practicing drills in the backyard. Steven's level is the first year that the kids play with a goalie and Steven's coach, unlike most coaches, will let every kid have a turn playing in all of the different positions. This way they can get a feel for what they prefer and what they're good at. Steven naturally gravitated towards the defense and especially goalie. He thrives on getting the ball away and kicking it down the field. And I have to admit, he makes a darn good little goalie.

Here's Steven dribbling the ball down the field

Here he is again

I'm not sure exactly what he's doing here, but I love this picture! Both of his feet are off the ground!

The next few pictures are blurry, but I had to show off Steven's goalkeeping prowess. Here he is with a great save.

And another amazing save!

And another...

and another! Yes!

However, there's plenty of this going on too. Playing around inside the net whenever there's no action.

And doing whatever it is he's doing!

We miss soccer and we can't wait for the spring season to start. At least we have gymnastics to tide us over in the meantime (pictures forthcoming.)

October

2011-11-05T11:02:00.000-05:00

Our October was much the same as yours, I'm sure. There was the pumpkin patch, Halloween, and alot of sewing for those of us who like to make our children's costumes. This year, we were set on a Star Wars Clone Wars theme with Steven as Anakin Skywalker, Margaret as Ahsoka Tano, and Joshua as Yoda. Just as I went to buy the fabric, Margaret changed her mind and decided that she wanted to be Sleeping Beauty instead. I couldn't argue because I love that my little girl loves princesses so much, so I went with it. In the end, I decided to buy Steven's costume since there were so many accessories for it, and also because I wasn't sure how to construct the armor that Anakin wears on his chest and shoulders. And I'm glad that I did because he looked JUST like Anakin and I had more time to figure out Joshua's Yoda costume.

Here he is, in all of his Yoda glory. I ended up taking his bathrobe and creating a pattern from it for both layers of the Jedi robes. For the dark brown layer, I left off the hood and the sleeves and I added a tie at the waist to hold it closed. The outer layer doesn't have a tie, but it has a hood and sleeves. The hat was alot of fun. I borrowed from a pattern I used a few years ago to make a Batman hood for Steven; I just sized it down a bit so that it would fit Joshua's head. The ears were of my own design. They ended up being way too big so that he looked more like Gizmo that Yoda, but he still looked so cute in them!

Here is Margaret as Sleeping Beauty. I completely made her dress from scratch and it took me forever. For some reason, I was having a really hard time getting into the project, so it would take me a whole day just to do the sleeves, or something else ridiculous like that. There was also supposed to be a flange across the chest and shoulders (you know, that part that sort of points up at the shoulders on Sleeping Beauty's dress), but I completely ran out of steam and didn't finish it. Overall, I still think she looks beautiful.

Margaret loves to love on Joshua and Joshua always wants whatever Margaret has.

Here's Steven as Anakin Skywalker. His favorite part was definitely the light saber, which we've already had to take away from him for hitting his brother and sister in the faces with it.

Two amazingly handsome fellas

Candy just makes everything better

We didn't make it to an actual, traditional pumpkin patch this year. I'm not quite sure why (lazy on my part, I guess), but we made it to the next best thing. The city held a huge Pumpkin Fest with lots of carnival games, face painting, bounce houses, pony rides, etc. We went and had a total blast.

Here are Steven and Margaret playing one of the games. I love Margaret with her shades... so chic. And Steven cracks me up with how much he got into shooting that water gun!

Margaret had her fingernails done while we were there. And no, that wasn't the first time she's had her nails painted. I paint them for her all of the time!

Here's Steven working on a little sand art project. So focused.

There was a group at the festival called the Dallas County Cowboy Church, which is an actual church that cowboys attend because they live too far away from town to drive every Sunday. They had a bale of hay with a cow's head on it that the kids could lasso if they wanted to. First, one of the cowboys would demonstrate how to do it, then they would give the kids a chance to do it. Margaret was too shy, but Steven really got into it.

Not bad! Way to go, cowboy!

Margaret did try her hand at "milking" a cow. There was a rubber glove with milk in it and each of the finger tips had a small hole in it. After one of the cowboys showed them how to do it, they got a chance to do it on their own. Margaret was very shy and delicate about the whole thing, but I'm glad that she gave it a go.

Steven on the other hand, was milking every udder at once by squeezing it to death. I'm just glad that it wasn't a real cow. Ouch!

We also had the chance to enjoy some yummy snow cones while we were there.

Margaret's favorite part... the pony ride. We went when there was a lull, so she got to pick the pony she rode and the ladies let her ride for a very long time. She loved it!

Steven loved the bounce house, of course. It was the very last thing that we did before we left and he was so happy to finally get to do it.

This is just a bit of the goings on in the Sabin family for this month. I know that I've been awful about blogging, but I'll try to improve. Hope you're having fun as well. Happy Fall!

"The Comment"

2011-11-04T14:23:00.000-05:00

Okay, so it's been almost a year since my last post (pitiful, I know), and in that time Blogger has changed alot! I had no idea that I had to approve people's comments before they would be posted to my site as a way to filter spam. One day last week I decided to login to my dashboard just on a whim and saw that I had 400 comments waiting to be posted to my site! Granted, most of it was junk, but there were comments from some of you out there that I didn't even know were floating around in cyberspace. I was so delighted to read those hidden gems, that it set my mind to thinking ("A dangerous pastime, I know." From Beauty and the Beast.)
We all know that wonderful feeling when we go to check in to our blog and we see that we have 2 comments. "Two comments!", you might say to yourself. "I wonder who's been checking in on me!?!" And as you click on the comments link to see who they are, your heart begins to race and a small smile forms at the corners of your mouth in anticipation of a giggle to an inside joke. And then you read your comments, and for that brief moment a wave of love for that person, no matter who they are, washes over you and all seems right with the world.

Everyone loves the euphoric "2 comments" feeling, just as we all despise the disheartening "zero comment" experience. Come on, we all know that one, too. To put it simply: 0+0=0. "I have zero comments which means zero people are thinking of me, therefore I am a zero." Slight exaggeration as this might be, it's not far from the thoughts that go through some of our minds as we read "0 comments." The thought is fleeting and inconsequential, but we experience it just the same: brief disappointment.

Ahhhhhh, the power of "The Comment." For good or for bad, that guy has worked it's way into our sense of well-being in these modern times. Someone needs to remind him that "With great power comes great responsibility."

December Fun

2010-12-19T21:25:00.002-06:00

Is it just me, or has the month of December just snuck by? The last thing I remember is Black Friday shopping and now here it is, the 19th of December and Christmas is this week! I mean, what happened!?!? Of course, I should feel like it's creeping by because I'm at that point in my pregnancy where everyone always asks "So, ready to have that baby?" or "You're still pregnant?", and such. For anyone whose ever been pregnant, you know that those questions get real old, real fast. But just so that the whole world knows, I'm going in tomorrow morning to be naturally induced. What this means is that we might have a baby tomorrow and we might not (though I'm counting on it.) So if we do, everyone will be getting birth announcements in the near future. (Of course, I guess you will be no matter what b/c he's got to come at some point, right!?!? I mean, no one's ever been pregnant forever!)

In the process of this month flying by we've had alot of fun, too. Christmas parties, tree decorating, visiting Santa and lounging around the house. (We actually do that alot right now b/c Mommy's feet swell up like apples when I walk around too much. In fact, it's not unusual to hear Margaret say "Mommy, are your feet turning into apples now?" So here are just a few pictures of our fun month so far:

Steven's smile while playing Lego Star Wars

Margaret's silly smile while dancing like Santa

Steven's big grin while decorating the tree

Margaret decorating the tree

Margaret going for the pinata at the church Christmas party

Steven's pal Charlie at the Christmas party

Margaret telling Santa that she wants a Bathtime Ariel for Christmas

Steven and Santa smiling for the camera: perfect!

Have a Merry Christmas!

A Conversation with a 3-Year Old

2010-12-17T12:45:00.002-06:00

After eating lunch at Taco Bueno Margaret and I had this conversation in the car:

A: (sneezing and sniffling)
M: What's wrong mom?
A: I don't know. My nose started bothering me while we were at Taco Bueno and now I can't stop sneezing.
M: Yuck! You mean you have Taco Bueno in your nose!?!?

Ah, the thinking of a 3-year old. :)

Catch-Up

2010-12-04T13:07:00.008-06:00

Obviously I haven't posted in awhile... that seems to be a trend of mine. But today's post is going to be a catch-up of the past several months so that I can stop feeling overwhelmed with all I need to post and just move forward from here. Don't worry, I won't make it too long; just lots of pictures.

I had my birthday in August and, for some reason, turning 31 has affected me alot more than turning 30 did. Now I'm actually IN my 30's... sheesh that just sounds so old! We didn't do a whole lot to celebrate, but John and the kids got me some great gifts. John got me a rotary cutter and mat to use for sewing (which I absolutely love) and the kids got me Mary Poppins and some of my favorite movie candy... perfect!

The kids and I have been homeschooling since September and having a blast. I'm working on Kindergarten stuff with Steven (reading, writing, math, science and art) and Margaret just participates right along with him. For the most part, they just do everything together, but I change things up a bit for each of them when it comes to reading and writing. Some of the sentences that Steven has been reading this week include: "Slim slugs slept on the slick sled" and "Ducks in flocks flit and flap on the flat pond." I'm actually quite proud of how well he is doing and I get so excited when I think about what's to come in his education. Homeschooling has been hard the last few weeks because I've just been so tired, but I'm trying to be persistent and do it when we can since we're taking 3 weeks off for Christmas and the baby (one of the greatest luxuries about teaching at home.)

Halloween was loads of fun this year. I made both of the kids' costumes myself, which I'm quite proud of since I had never sewn anything on such a large scale before. Steven wanted to be a pirate and Margaret was, of course, a princess; Cinderella, in particular. We went to a Halloween party at a friend's house, trunk or treating with cousins, and had our own little party with my mom on Halloween night. All in all, a very fun month for us.

Thanksgiving is always fun for us since all of our family lives close by. We alternate each year whether we eat dinner at my family's or John's and then go to the other's house for dessert. This year we had dinner with John's family and dessert with my family. My nephew Hunter showed up just as I was getting the rolls together and he insisted on "helping" me. Actually, all he really wanted to do was come and squish everything in an attempt to make the ugliest rolls on the planet and then give all of the credit to me. I eventually had to threaten him with no dinner if he didn't make the most beautiful rolls possible. I mean, come on, he's a budding artist for crying out loud! He should have taken the opportunity to show off his mad skills.

When we got to my sister's house the missionaries were getting ready to leave so they shared a spiritual message before they left. It was kind of nice to have that on such a special day, I have to admit. But once they left, the fun REALLY began. We popped in Just Dance 2 on the Wii (which none of us had ever played before) and got down. Who was the overall champion for the night, you ask? Yours truly, of course! Which is pretty pathetic considering I had a huge basketball in the way the whole time. But hey, when you've got skills you've got skills. :)

Yeah, don't laugh until you've tried it; that game was very addicting! I would dance for a song, then sit down and have a bunch of Braxton Hicks contractions, then I'd get up and do it all over again. If I had remembered that John and I were going out for Black Friday shopping then I probably would have taken it a little easier. As it was, when we got home we put the kids to bed, put our lists together and hit Wal-Mart at midnight. We stayed out shopping until 8:00 in the morning. Needless to say, it took us several days to recover and my body was killing me, but we got some super-hot deals. But I don't know if we'll be doing that again... it was rough!

As far as the pregnancy goes, everything is moving along smoothly. I'm due on Christmas day, but my midwife wants to induce on the 20th, so that's only about 2 weeks away. I'm so excited to have Joshua here soon! (Not to mention the fact that when he's here I'll be able to feel my ribs again and sleep on my stomach again!) The kids are excited as well and pray every night that Joshua will get here in time for Christmas. Steven is especially cute. I've tried to get him to feel Joshua moving several times but the little guy always stops as soon as anyone else puts their hands on my stomach. So I'll push a little to try and get Joshua to move and Steven will say "Mom, don't wake him up. He's just a baby and babies need their sleep." How thoughtful is that!?!

Well, now that I'm all caught up I hope to make my next post before the end of the month. But just in case... Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Girls Camp 2010

2010-07-18T14:43:00.004-05:00

I had the opportunity to go to girls camp again this year, and I'm so glad that I went. It was truly an amazing experience for me. We came home last Saturday, so it's been a week, but the memories are still fresh on my mind. Because I went as a stake leader this year instead of a ward leader, my experience was very different. While I grew very close to the leaders and girls that I went with last year, this year I had the opportunity to experience that on a much greater scale. I can't begin to tell you how many new people I met (and instantly fell in love with) or how many friendships were strengthened as a result of camp. I loved getting to meet so many wonderful and amazing women (and men.) But I had so much fun with the girls too. Whoever said that serving in the Stake YW Presidency inhibits you from developing close relationships with the girls was wrong. I would see these girls at dances, activities, in the halls and at camp, and I feel like my relationships with them are "tight." I had so much fun with so many of the girls at camp... they are amazing.

Of course, as much fun as camp was for me, it was also a very bittersweet experience. Our family moved out of the Frisco stake at the end of June, so going to girls camp with them was sort of my final "hoorah." And now, doggone-it, I'm suffering from separation anxiety (or something.) I had this wonderful, fun, spiritual experience with so many great people and then I was released from my calling Saturday morning and drove home. Talk about a loooonng, hard, emotional drive home. I cried pretty much the entire way. When I drove away from camp, I felt like I had lost much more than a calling. But I can't go on about that or I'll start crying instead of typing and we all know that I'm way overdue for a blog post!

Here's a picture of our amazing Stake YW Presidency (minus the first counselor), our Stake High Councilman over YW, the Stake Presidency member over the youth and the Stake President

Our Stake YW Presidency: Me, Kristan Miller and Rachel Green

Stake High Councilman: Bro. Zollinger

(Some of the most amazing people I've ever met)

Rachel Green, President Alleman, Kristan Miller and Me

(Talk about an amazing man)

My girls... I miss you guys so much!

Three

2010-02-23T14:46:00.003-06:00

I can't believe my little girl turns 3 today. I've always been one of those moms that stands over my kids' beds at night and cries over how big they're getting. At least, most of the time. Margaret has been quite the pill since the day she was born and, I'll be honest, she and I just didn't get along very well. But something has changed over the last six months that has allowed she and I to finally bond. And since potty training earlier this month, she has been a completely different, happier little girl.

Three things you do that I love:

1) Get your Ariel doll and sing her song (when she's giving her voice to Ursula). You do it so "well" and you do it over and over and over... I love it.

2) Randomly run up to me, grab my face, and plant a huge wet kiss on my cheek. :)

3) At dinner time, you scoot your chair as close to me as possible and rest your hand on my leg.

Three of Margaret's favorite things:

1) Princesses

2) Clothes (especially princess clothes or clothes that mommy makes)

3) Playing superheroes with Steven

Three of your favorite foods:

1) Pancakes

2) Cereal

3) PB&J sandwiches

Three of your favorite colors:

1) Yellow

2) Blue

3) Red (notice these are Snow White colors)

Three nicknames that your family has for you:

1) sweet girl

2) ragamuffin

3) silly girl

Three words that express how I feel about you:

I love you. Happy Birthday, sweet girl.

San Antonio

2009-07-17T15:21:00.005-05:00

It's taken me awhile to post about our trip to San Antonio (since we have been back for two weeks now), but here it is... finally.

First of all, we had such a blast. Sea World was so much! This was the first time for all of us except John and already we can't wait to go back. We didn't really ride any rides, we just swam alot and went to a bunch of shows. Oh, and fed dolphins and sea lions. Feeding the dolphins was definitely Margaret's favorite part (aside from swimming). She loved seeing them so close up and she even got to touch one. Steven's favorite part was seeing Shamu, but I also think he loved riding all of the kiddie rides with Daddy. I really loved the Viva show with the dolphins and acrobats and of course anything that involved getting wet. Seeing the Alamo was fun, but I was so shocked with how small it was. Growing up learning about what took place there, I guess I just expected it to be much bigger. The riverwalk was alot of fun too, but it would be nice if there were signs somewhere letting you know that it's not really stroller-friendly. What could have been a very pleasant stroll turned into a stressful workout; but I did enjoy dinner and the boat tour. All in all, I loved our vacation and I was a little sad to come back to real life. It was fun to be together so much just having a good time. Can't wait to do it again.

A Walking Contradiction

2009-06-24T15:07:00.002-05:00

I love music.

I love just about all styles of music aside from Rap, R&B and twangy country. And when I say that I LOVE all other styles of music, I don't just mean that I'll listen to it if nothing else is on, but I really, truly, passionately (or "truly, madly, deeply" in the words of Savage Garden) LOVE each style for what they are and what they have to offer me, as a listener.

I was thinking about this during my run this morning and came to the conclusion that I, my friends, am a walking contradiction. In my previous post, I spent a long time rationalizing why movies should be made of tougher stuff to be considered great, particularly when it comes to character and morality. However, I don't hold these same high standards for myself when it comes to music. I really love heavy, heavy music.

There it is. I said it.

Metallica
311
Incubus
Linkin Park

The list goes on... and on. But I have to say that of all of the heavy music that I like 311 and Incubus are my favorites. Why? Because when they came out, what they were doing was new and different and fresh. Not just straight rock but alt-rock meets hip-hop meets rap meets ska meets raggae meets funk. Gotta love it!

However, we all know that heavy music isn't always paired with moral messages (unless you're listening to Christian Rock, which I do on occassion to try and get my fix without the negative lyrics.) Does this stop me from listening to this type of music? On occassion, and definitely if my kids are around. Does this stop me from LOVING this type of music? No. Absolutely not.

Let me know if you feel this way too, but I am really MOVED by music. In a way that nothing else can move me. And I find it much easier for male singers to move me than female ones. There are only a handful of female pop singers that I actually like (not all from this era) and all are because they move me and speak to me. I don't know, I guess when I hear a woman sing, I really want her voice to be beautiful because of the types of emotions that I want to experience when I hear a woman sing. A man, however, is a totally different ballgame. Sure, I like it when men have beautiful voices too (my husband has a beautiful voice), but there is just something about a man with a gravely singing voice.

I think I got a little off-topic so I'll just end it with this: apparently it's easier to entertain me with music than it is with film.

Movies

2009-06-19T15:20:00.002-05:00

I think that I've earned the title of movie snob among the ladies that I serve with in Young Women's. I don't always go crazy over the same movies that they do (Twilight) and of many that are deemed great movies by most people, it seems I'm the only one that has anything negative to say about them (Seven Pounds.) I have to admit that the art of a movie can only take it so far, as well as the acting, plot, etc. Yes, I want to be moved emotionally or intellectually challenged; drawn into a love story or sitting on the edge of my seat; heck, I don't even mind being totally confused at the end of the movie. But, for me personally, it's hard to justify the greatness of a movie without taking into account the subject matter. That's probably the clencher for me, right there.

For instance, Seven Pounds was an excellent movie. It was well-made with very insightful camera shots and lighting. The acting was superb and I even cried in the end. But I have two major problems with the movie: first, it was rather predictable and, second: when you strip it down to the bones, it's just a movie striving to glorify suicide. Granted, I have NO IDEA how I would react in a similar situation, but come on guys - suicide is suicide no matter how many people you save or help along the way. You can disagree with me all you want, but I think that if you sit back and think about it long enough from a religious standpoint, in the end the guy made a poor choice. Noble, yes. Sacrificial, yes. Damning, yes. Killing yourself intentionally to save someone else is simply not the same thing as jumping in front of a bullet to save a comrad in arms. A soldier who takes a bullet for a friend isn't the one holding the gun. Enough said.

To illustrate the kinds of movies that I deem great, I want to talk about a movie that John and I watched last night. Has anyone else out there seen Fireproof? It's made by the same guys that did Facing the Giants. Fireproof was a superb movie (and not just because it was about firefighters, whom hold a special place in my heart.) Yes, the acting was a little cheesy at times, the quality might have been sub-par, and the focus on the cross might have made me a little uncomfortable, but I would still rate this as an excellent movie for several reasons. First of all, it's about a disfunctional marriage on the brink of divorce, something that many people can relate to. Secondly, and this is a biggie for me, this movie doesn't shy away from talking about religious matters in any way whatsoever. It's a religious movie that takes religion seriously and it's not afraid to openly discuss God and Christ and our relationship with them. And of course, I thought the storyline was great. Those are things that I look for in a good movie. It doesn't have to be a happy movie or have a happy ending for me to like it, but it should have some sort of moral spine to it, for sure.

Having said all of that, I wanted to challenge myself to come up with a list of 30 movies that I deem great, just so you guys will know that there really are several movies out there that I love!

1. Harry Potter (all, but especially 1,2 and 5)
2. The Lord of the Rings (wonderful "good vs. evil" story)
3. Star Wars (the originals - hokey but ultimately good)
4. Willow
5. The Fugitive
6. Unbreakable
7. Superman I (the original)
8. Superman Returns (even though they took out "Freedom, Justice and the American Way")
9. Pride and Prejudice (the BBC version)
10. Emma
11. Much Ado About Nothing
12. The Twelfth Night, or What You Will
13. Fireproof
14. Dan in Real Life
15. E.T.
16. Beauty and the Beast
17. Sleeping Beauty (and most classic Disney movies)
18. Toy Story (and most Disney/Pixar movies)
19. Batman (the original)
20. Batman Returns
21. South Pacific
22. The Sound of Music
23. My Fair Lady
24. The Others
25. Father of the Bride
26. Ever After
27. Saints and Soldiers
28. A League of Their Own
29. Swing Kids
30. Rudy

See, there are plenty of movies that I love! :)

Girls Camp 2009

2009-06-17T15:25:00.003-05:00

Well, I survived girls camp and I have to tell ya, I had a blast! I had my doubts once I got a good look at the inside of our cabins, but the rest of the camp grounds were so amazing that our nasty bunks were soon forgotten... until bedtime. I had so much fun getting to know the girls better and spending time with them; there's just something about spending a week together that brings you closer. I especially feel that way about the three other leaders that I was there with... you gals rock!!! Can't wait to do it again next year! If you'd like to see some pics, then go here.

Oh, and the song that I have playing in the background is my new fave. It's titled "Emma" and it's all about Emma Smith and her life. One of the most spiritual experiences that I had at camp was when this song was played behind scenes of the "Emma Smith: My Story" movie... very touching. Especially in the last few seconds of the song which says "I bet your heart breaks when some people still say somewhere down the line you lost your faith. How much can one heart take?" That line really got to me because I've always been one of those people who felt that way. I was wondering why we were focusing on Emma Smith as a woman of light when she eventually strayed from the truth. This song combined with the very stirring images that were shown has brought about a complete change of heart in me. I love you, Emma Smith; I'm sure the angels did stand in reverence as you prayed.

My Little Hero

2009-06-16T22:34:00.006-05:00

I know that a new post from me has been a long time coming, but believe me when I say that I've tried. Let me just blame it on our internet and be done with it.

Steven turned 4 last month and we celebrated a few weeks ago with an AWESOME superhero party. The kids got to come dressed up as superheros then we played some fun games in the backyard. Steven was, of course, Batman for the party and he looked so cute... oh, I mean, he looked so TOUGH and SUPERHERO-Y. I think he really enjoyed his day. Thanks to everyone who came and made it so special for him.

The Superman invitations that I made

"Pass the Kryptonite" relay race

He looks so heroic with his cape blowing in the wind!

"Capture the Super Villians!" - Villian #1
(Emily, you look soooo evil!)

"Capture the Super Villians!" - Villian #2 and #3

Tie up those villians!

The cake - Thanks Michelle!

The cupcakes - Thanks again, Michelle!

It's Been a Great Week

2009-03-07T20:27:00.002-06:00

It all started with an awesome Stake Conference in which Pres. Uchtdorf urged us to read and study the Preach My Gospel manual. I've heard that many times before, but for some reason I felt a really strong impression to follow his counsel this time. I started Sunday afternoon and have continued through the week, journaling as I go and really taking every sentence to heart. I'm not very far into the manual, but I've already had so many answers and insights that it's really been amazing. My testimony has certainly been strengthened in that I know that the leaders of the church give us the things that we need to hear in order to improve our lives and draw closer to the Lord. Both President Uchtdorf and Elder Cook gave amazing talks that struck many chords with me and have increased my desire to do good.

This week was also great because the kids and I got to go to the Dallas Children's Museum for the first time. And while there were definitely way too many people there and I almost lost Steven at one point, it was a neat experience. They absolutely LOVED the dinosaur dig and the water table. It was a great place to have fun and learn at the same time.

Yet another reason why this week has been good is because I actually stuck to my commitment to work out 4 days this week. I've been trying to increase from 3 to 5 workouts for awhile and it just hasn't been happening. So I set a goal to work out 4 times and I achieved it! I've started a running program for beginners (I've always hated running) that should allow me to work up slowly to being able to run 3 miles in two months time. I tried it for the first time on Friday and, while my mind was telling me that I hated it, my body sure felt great all day. I also had an AMAZING upper body workout on Thursday with my sister involving pyramid training (I LOVE weights) and man am I sore!!! Still!!! But at the same time, I feel stronger already and my body just feels good. "It hurts so good!" The weight loss is going great; I'm approaching the 25 lb. mark, so that's definitely something to be happy about. I just have to share this because I find it really interesting. John and I broke down tonight and got burgers and fries for dinner from Mooyah Burgers. They were great, but I'm feeling so sick. I've been eating SO healthy for the last few months that I could just feel the grease going down and sitting in my stomach. I know it sounds gross, but I just find it amazing that I'm that in tune with my body now. Who'da thunk!?!

Wednesday was another great day. I worked on Young Women stuff from 4:00 until I had to leave for mutual that night and had a great "Getting to Know You" night with my Beehives. I've been praying to be able to develop stronger relationships with the girls in my class (they all have very "unique" personalities that can make it hard) alot lately and I feel like Wednesday was a great step in the right direction. I also had the opportunity to teach a class on integrity this afternoon for a Personal Progress Roundtable and I really enjoyed preparing for it. The value experiences that I chose to teach involved ALOT of scripture study and it was inspiring to read about all of these characters in the scriptures who demonstrated unwavering integrity in the face of temptation (i.e. Esther, Daniel, Paul, Joseph Smith, etc.) The class went over really well and I was able to meet girls from other wards in our stake.

...A great week...

Happy Birthday to Our Little Funnyface

2009-02-25T15:10:00.006-06:00

My baby is all grown up. Okay, so that's a major exaggeration, but I really can't believe that she's actually 2! I seem to be saying this more and more the older I get, but time really does fly by too quickly.

We celebrated Margaret's birthday with family parties on Saturday and Sunday evening. True to form, she was an absolute ham as soon as she realized that she was the focus. Our little funnyface was the life of the party!

Since Monday was Margaret's actual birthday, John and I took her to the park while Steven was at school. It was really nice to have some alone time with her and I know that she enjoyed having both of us all to herself. And to finish her birthday off with a bang, we had a special Family Home Evening lesson celebrating Margaret! John and I talked about her birth while we showed pictures of her in my tummy and of her as a newborn. Then we shared some funny stories about her or funny sayings from the last year. After that we talked about how she is very forgiving and loving, just like Heavenly Father and Jesus. But I think Margaret's favorite part was the slideshow that I put together for her on the computer with pictures of her over the past year. She was so excited to see the little baby, but especially excited when she saw pictures of Mommy, Daddy or Steven. What a sweetie.

We love you, Margaret. Happy 2nd Birthday!

For Lack of Anything Better to Say

2009-01-26T13:29:00.003-06:00

I've been getting a few snyde remarks about not posting anything new to my blog in awhile, so I'm just gonna go for it, even if it's not that interesting.

John and I started doing Weight Watchers together last week (though I unofficially started at the beginning of the month.) His goal is to lose 5 pounds and let's just say that after the first week, he's .5 lb away from his goal (if only that could be me.) Since the beginning of the month I've lost almost 10 pounds! (Only 45 more to go until I hit goal.) Of course, my goal weight of 160 is something that I haven't weighed since I was like 12 years old (I jest not.) I didn't even weigh that little in college when I was working out several times a day everyday for rowing and karate. Needless to say, I'm a little apprehensive about reaching my goal, but I'm dedicated, so we'll see how it goes... I'll keep you posted.

Over the Christmas holiday (on Christmas Day, actually) I rolled my ankle pretty badly while playing laser tag with my brother and brother-in-law in the dark outside. (NOTE: Chad wanted me to add that he and Stewart were kicking mine and Patrick's rears. Oh, and Chad was also the first one on the scene to rescue me after I flew into a fence while falling down.) Though I've been treating it pretty well, my ankle has been really slow to heal. Last week was the first time I wore heels to church and it was very painful; I'm sure people were wondering why I was walking so funny. This morning was the first time that I've tried to exercise since Christmas and it was definitely not a pleasant experience. Every so often I'll turn my leg just so and then fall to the floor from the excruciating pain. You'd think it would be healed after a month, but I guess not. Sheesh! It's very inconvenient.

I finally finished putting together our Shutterfly calendar, and in the process came across some really great photos of the kids. The both got pretty big gifts this year, especially from grandma and grandpa. These are pictures of them enjoying those gifts. Aren't they so cute!?!

Steven REALLY loves his new bike!

"Do I look handsome, Mommy?"

"Ride 'em cowboy!"

"Ahhhh, I love the feel of the wind in my hair."

Happy Anniversary, My Love

2009-01-08T16:20:00.005-06:00

To the most wonderful man that I ever could have married:

Thank you for six wonderful years and many more to come.

Thank you for being the greatest husband in the world.

Thank you for your friendship and companionship.

Thank you for your strong testimony and leadership in our home.

Thank you for our two beautiful children and the wonderful father that you are.

Thank you for all of the joy, laughter and fun over the years.

And thank you for loving me so completely;

I love you.

A Visit with Santa

2008-12-16T00:47:00.005-06:00

We took the kids to see Santa last Friday night and they had a ton of fun. We've been going to the same Santa for a few years and I have to say that he (and Mrs. Claus) are the best! Every year, their present to each other is to play Santa and Mrs. Claus to all of the kids in their neighborhood. They have tons of lights and decorations, and he decks out his garage and all of the front windows to look like Santa's Workshop; his beard is even real! This year they weren't too busy when we showed up, so after trying to take a picture of the kids with Santa while Margaret screamed, he walked around with Margaret for a long time showing her all of his toys and decorations until she finally warmed up to him. I think she even gave him a smile towards the end. And Steven! So cute; he had his wish list written down on a piece of paper and he ran right up to Santa and stuck it in his hands. This is the first year that he hasn't been scared of Santa and I know it's because he's getting so into the children's christmas spirit. It's so sweet to hear him talk about Santa and Rudolph as if they were so real! :) But I've also been constantly stressing the importance of the Savior during this season and I love hearing him talk about Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus whenever he sees a nativity. I didn't think my Christmas memories could get any better than last year, but I'm glad to be proven wrong. This year has been so fun! Merry Christmas, everyone!

Well, at least Steven was having a good time

Here he is going over his list with Santa and insisting that he has been a good boy

She really was smiling just before the camera took this picture

Merry Christmas from the Sabins!

Margaret's Piano Debut

2008-12-07T22:03:00.003-06:00

Here's the video of my little Margaret playing on the piano. It's a little long, but if you can make it to the end you get to see a perfect depiction of how she goes from calm to crazy in .7 seconds. My favorite part of the whole video is at the beginning when she turns around to look at John and, while still looking at him, starts to move just her fingers and play some more. You'll see what I'm talking about!

Don't you just love when she has so much energy and she doesn't know what to do with it so she starts swinging her arms everywhere? That's my little girl! Did you see what I was talking about at the beginning? It's too funny!

Cute Kids

2008-12-04T16:32:00.003-06:00

I just wanted to share some cute pics of the kids decorating the tree and enjoying the piano that we just got from John's parents. Happy December!

By the time Steven was done, that one spot on the Christmas tree was covered in ornaments while everywhere else was bare. Classic!

If you can't tell, the kids didn't really want to take this pick; they just wanted to get back to eating their candy canes.

Our mini-Chopin right there!

She can be Clara Schumann; I love her pose!

Thanksgiving Projects

2008-12-01T18:03:00.004-06:00

I know, I know... it's been a while since I've posted anything new. Is anyone else feeling the way I feel about blogging lately; that it's more of a pain than its worth sometimes? If not, then just ignore that comment and pretend that I LOVE TO BLOG!

I just wanted to share some of the crafts that I worked on last month to celebrate Thanksgiving/Fall. I got the idea from a friend a few years back to make a Thankful Turkey and list blessings that we are thankful for on the feathers. In the past they've always been 2-D on our fridge, but since I'm not very good at drawing I decided that I wanted to try a 3-D one this year. This is what I came up with:

I used two different sizes of styrofoam balls and wrapped them with two different colors of yarn (that part took FOREVER). Then I connected the two balls with a craft stick, added a face made of felt, cut out feathers, glued them to craft sticks and poked them into the large ball (body). The kids loved it and it was alot of fun to make together! Here's where I got the idea.

My other major accomplishment for November was sewing eight Fall patchwork placemats for our table. I've never been able to sew to save my life but I've been attending a sewing club each month through our Relief Society and learning lots of great skills. Thanks to alot of help from a great friend, Angel, I was able to finish them in time for Thanksgiving. Thanks Angel!

I had alot of fun putting these together, though it was a challenge for me (since I have zero sewing skills.) The tedious part was cutting the different fall fabrics into tons of little strips and then sewing them together to make the long strip that goes across the bottom. Once that part was done, the rest of the project flew. For this project, I got my idea here.

I have lots of fun ideas in my head ready for this month: a purse/diaper bag, crayon rolls, a christmas tablerunner, and christmas placemats. Now I just need the courage! ^_^

The Family Tree

2008-11-20T01:20:00.003-06:00

We went to my dad's house this past weekend and while I was there we started going through alot of my grandma and grandpa's old pictures/albums/papers. I've had this huge desire lately to work on my family history, so I was pumping my dad for as much info as possible. One of the jewels that we came across was my grandma's baby book that her mother had made for her. I can't read most of it because it's in german, but she did write a little in english too. My favorites are two poems that she wrote to my grandma, both of which happen to be in english. I was so excited to find these because, as some of you know, I love to write poetry as well (though I haven't really had the chance lately), so I felt this immediate connection with her. I just wanted to include the poems that she wrote because they are super sweet and really well-written.

"May Future with her kindest smiles

Wreathe laurels for thy brow;

May loving Nature guard and keep thee

Ever pure as thou art now."

My Dream of You

"I had a little Dream of you,

before you came down here,

A wonder dream so very true,

My own, my baby dear.

A little dream so tender sweet,

It brought a smile, a tear -

Love's rainbow flashing out to greet

And welcome you my dear.

'Twas but a dream, a fancy flight,

For since I hold you near,

The joy of you through day and night,

No dream could tell my dear."

Something else that I learned is that my grandmother (whose name was Margaret - yes there is a direct correlation) was called Gretel by her parents. My sister keeps razzing me about giving Margaret a nickname and insisting that it be Mags b/c that's what my grandpa called my grandma all of the time. As much as I love my grandma, I really don't love the name Mags; but Gretel is entirely different... I could get used to Gretel... We'll have to see; I really can't see (my) Margaret as anything but Margaret right now... and Margaret is a beautiful name.

Ahhhhh...

2008-11-12T12:19:00.002-06:00

I have to apologize for being such a slacker lately on my blogging. I've started work again and I've been spending just about every minute of the day trying to meet a really hard deadline. Thankfully, I JUST finished and now I get to take the rest of the week "off" so that I can focus on Young Women In Excellence. I just have to say that I have the most wonderful husband in the world. I would never have been able to finish my work if it hadn't been for him taking over with the kids in the mornings. Thanks hon, I love you!

Nothing new has been going on with us lately. The kids are starting to get excited about Christmas (partly due to the fact that I'm listening to Christmas music already - I can't help myself - and b/c there are christmas lights up in front of the library.) Steven talks non-stop about how Santa is going to come and bring him some presents. In fact, he even sings songs about it, though they're not any songs that I've ever heard before! Margaret is our little talking machine and has really fallen in love with books (more than usual.) After putting her to bed at night (with the mandatory 2-3 books) I'll hear her "reading" to herself for a good 10 minutes before she actually falls asleep. It's way cute! They are starting to play really well together, though they both have their days, and I have to say that hearing them laugh together has got to be one of my favorite sounds in the world! I'm so blessed to be able to stay home with my kids. Sure, there are plenty of times that I could just pull my hair out (you know what I'm talking about), but when it comes to the end of the day I feel so much love for my kids and know that I'm the luckiest mom in the world!

What a Disappointmet

2008-11-04T22:22:00.002-06:00

The election results are in and Obama will be the 44th US President come January 2009. Can I just say that I am so disappointed in our country and more than a little scared for its future. I really can't believe that so many people were taken in by his smooth talking and crazy politics. Now I'm going to be forced to send my kids to preschool when I'd rather teach them at home, among many other things. Arrrgggghhhh... I HATE big government sticking their noses where they just don't belong!!!! Maybe I can talk John into moving to Canada...

A Fun Day in the Park

2008-11-02T16:13:00.007-06:00

I had the great opportunity to go to Six Flags yesterday with the youth in our ward... it was so much fun. Granted, even though I had an extra hours sleep last night, we still didn't get home until after 11:00 and my body feels like a train wreck today... especially my feet! Maybe I'm just getting old, who knows. There was only one ride that actually scared me, but on some of the others I didn't want to ride them again for the simple fact that I didn't feel too hot afterwards. Like I said, I must just be getting old. Anyway, it was a really great opportunity to get to know the girls a little better, and I even had the chance to meet a few of the boys and get to know them better as well. And of course, I have the opportunity to serve with some of the most amazing women that I know, so it was way fun to hang out and play with them all day, too!

NEVER AGAIN!!!!!

Emily and Taylor

(Even though she might look like a youth, Emily really is our YW President.)

Emma and Darci

Taylor and Darci

Carissa and Emily

Taylor and Emma

The Rest of Our Busy Week

2008-10-31T15:10:00.008-05:00

Now that the week is almost over I'm finally at a point where I can write about the REST of our busy week... last week.

Last Friday was our ward trunk-or-treat party and it was lots of fun. There were tons of people that I haven't even met before, lots of great chili (mine happened to win 2nd place... thank you, thank you), fun games to play, and of course lots and lots of candy. Here are the kids enjoying their spoils:

The next day I took Margaret to get her very first haircut, during which she cried nonstop until the stylist gave her a sucker (her weak spot.) I forgot to take an after picture, but the stylist took one with her camera and stuck it on a little certificate. I didn't have anything major done to her hair, just a trim (it was starting to look really scraggly in the back.) In fact, I don't think anyone can even tell that her hair was cut besides John and myself, but just knowing makes all the difference. Or in the words of G.I. Joe "Knowing is half the battle!" :)

And finally, because this was the last week that we had to make Halloween crafts we really threw it into high gear. We started off by painting our pumpkins on Monday (a tradition in our house) and then putting fun stickers on them when they dried. We had some other pumpkins that we were going to carve later in the week, but being the genius that I am, I put them outside to make the yard look a little festive until we were ready to carve them. When I went to leave for mutual Weds. night, they were gone! I'm still pretty upset about it, especially because I'm pretty sure that I know who did it. Moving on... We also painted handprint ghosties, made scary paperbag puppets, and decorated our mantel with egg carton spiders (thanks to Bethanne for that idea.) Here are some of the pics:

Steven's pumpkin

Margaret's pumpkin

Our really scarey puppets

Steven and Margaret's handprint ghosties

Mr. Spider

The Spider family

They're taking over the house!

Happy Halloween!

Mummies and Ghosts

2008-10-25T22:38:00.003-05:00

Alot has happened over the last few weeks that I haven't had a chance to blog about yet. Last Saturday we took the kids to a Halloween party given by some of our friends from our old ward; they had such a blast. We hadn't gotten their new costumes yet, so Steven wore his Buzz costume again and Margaret didn't have anything.)

Here's my beautiful little girl, unable to stop playing with her tongue for two seconds.

One of the games we played was a race to wrap the kids in toilet paper like a mummy. The first one to finish their roll wins! Steven and Daddy did a great job!

Margaret and Mommy... not so great. The picture is blurry because she kept running away from me. Everytime I really got going she would run away and break the line of toilet paper! And I'm very competitive, so you know I was chasing her around with my roll and wrapping her every haphazard chance I got!

The kids also had a chance to break the ghosty pinata. Steven took it very seriously; just look at that face of concentration.

My little ham, on the other hand, was laughing the whole time.

I'll have to post more later about the rest of our week, but right now I've GOT to go to bed. Happy Halloween!

Happy Birthday, Leah!

2008-10-18T14:09:00.005-05:00

This is a post just for Leah. Steven and I are so sorry that we missed your birthday party this morning. We were running a little late and then when we got close to the park, there were policemen making everyone turn onto a different street. We drove around for a very long time trying to find another way to the park, but I didn't know the area very well and nothing worked. At 11:00 we finally tried to go around a completely different way, but everyone else had the same idea and cars were backed up almost to the tollway. We wouldn't have even gotten there until after the party was over anyway. We're very sorry. But Steven wanted to make this video for you to let you know that he loves you and to wish you a happy birthday!

Recent Pics of the Kids

2008-10-12T13:20:00.003-05:00

Another thing that I haven't been doing very well this year is taking pictures and videos of my kids. That's not really something that I can add to the schedule, though, so I guess I'll just have to try harder to think of it on my own (it used to be so easy!) Here are a few pics that I did happen to take over the last few months. Enjoy!

One of the few days that I tried to get away with a clip (you can see it dangling in her hair.) This is why I always try to have her hair fixed... but other than that, what a cutie!

I absolutely love Margaret's bed head when she's had a bath the night before... it's so smooth and full of body! And don't you just love Steven's expression!

Margaret taking a ride on Daddy's legs.

Steven posing with his sunglasses for the camera.

My cute girl and her big, beautiful smile!

Something's Not Right

2008-10-07T22:36:00.002-05:00

So I don't usually go this long without posting on my blog, but I'll admit that I just haven't been myself lately. I have NO IDEA what the problem is (probably a culmination of many different things) but my mind has just been everywhere and nowhere at the same time. As some of you may already know, I always tend to get a little down in the dumps at this time of year because it brings back alot of memories of my grandma, whom I miss desperately. But I don't really think that's the case right now. For starters, I'm in desperate need of work but everything that I find is either full-time or just not for me, which has been stressing me out. So if anyone happens to hear of any morning time part-time work (especially working with kids) then let me know ('cause I'm so close to just filling out an application at Target). I've also been super, super exhausted lately (and no, I'm not pregnant... I would be crying if I were), which I can only attribute to the fact that I am so unhealthy right now. So now add to the mix alot of stress over trying to get back into exercising/eating healthier along with being constantly tired and you've got one cranky mom. I've also been super-stressed about my kids lately. Am I playing with them enough? Am I providing enough opportunities for growth and learning? And on and on. I know that this seems trivial, but I'm absolutely serious when I say that questions like these have been keeping me up at night (which just adds to my fatigue.)

My solution to try to deal with all of this? I've created a daily schedule for myself... a serious one. I have every minute of everyday planned out (obviously allowing for unexpected circumstances or impromptu deviations.) In college this was the only way for me to balance rowing practice, karate, working out on my own, orchestra, band, drum practice, bass practice, classes, studying, ect., so I might as well give it a try. I see myself as a very lazy, lax procrastinator and too many times I've been climbing into bed feeling like I got absolutely nothing accomplished today. So in order to meet all of the high demands that I've been putting on myself lately (daily prayer/scripture study, daily exercising, play with my kids more, schooltime for Steven, clean the house more efficiently, improve journal writing, and really getting serious about writing children's books and poetry), I decided to lay it all down on a piece of paper. And I must say, on paper it seems like I can fit everything in. Now don't get me wrong, I don't intend to become a slave to the clock (my personality would never allow for that anyway.) But I've been reading over and over in all of my education books about how children thrive on routine and I was just thinking to myself "You know what, maybe I would thrive on a routine, too." When I've transferred my schedule to Excel then I'll load it up and show everyone my (very lofty) plans. But for now, considering that a key component of my new schedule is to get to bed by ten every night and it is now eleven, I'll talk to you guys tomorrow!

Nursery

2008-09-26T14:39:00.000-05:00

I just realized that I never posted this, but Margaret is going to nursery now. She's been in there for 5 weeks and the teacher tells us that all she does (still) is sit in one of the teachers' laps and watch the other kids play. If any of you know my daughter, then you also know that is SO not her. I'm sort of surprised by her nursery behavior but, to be honest, it's alot better than I had hoped for. At least she's not going around pinching and hitting all of the other kids (which is what I expected her to do.) We didn't get any pictures before church because her first day was also the day of the Young Women's Program and I had to be early to church, but we took lots of pics after church (which is why it was so hard to get her to smile... she was ready for bed!)

Behold Your Little Ones

2008-09-18T13:14:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that you can access the new 2009 Nursery Manuals through the church website: lds.org. I have to say that I love this manual. While the old manuals were good, this new manual is excellent. I love how short the lessons are, yet they are still so rich with doctrine. I also love the new lesson topics. Again, while the old ones were alot of fun, the new topics cover so many important things like "I Will Take Care of My Body" and "Heavenly Father Blesses Me Through the Priesthood." I am sad that Steven will be graduating into Sunbeams in January so that he won't have the opportunity to participate in these lessons at church. But one of my favorite resources for our Family Home Evening Lessons has always been the Primary 1 lesson manual, and I'm so excited to get to incorporate this awesome new resource into our lessons too!

Also, I've added a list of links down and to the left that I like to use for planning FHE lessons. There are lots of great ideas at these sites/blogs so be sure to check them out!

Help!

2008-09-16T15:24:00.002-05:00

"... I need somebody. Help! Not just anybody."

Okay, just kidding; this isn't a post about The Beatles. But I really do need help... with how to handle Steven's horrible misbehavior. Here is a snippet (abridged) of what played out during dinner Sunday night:

"Steven, please take a bite of your dinner."
"No! Go away!"
"Steven, that isn't a very nice thing to say; it hurts our feelings and makes us feel sad. What can you say to make us feel happy?"
Refuses to say anything.
"Well, please eat your dinner."
"I don't want to!"
"Then please go sit in your room until you are ready to eat some of your dinner."
"Go away!" While walking to his room.
Slam! Slam! (the door) Bang! Bang! (the walls) then screaming at the top of his lungs (honestly, isn't he too young to be doing this?)
After a stern talk with Daddy, he decides to come back and eat.
"Thank you for making a good choice and coming to eat with us."
"I'm sorry, Mommy."
A few minutes go by when he refuses to eat again (he's only had one bite of dinner!)
"Please go to your room until you decide that you can eat dinner with the rest of us."
Slamming and banging and screaming again...
He comes back again, says sorry, and tells me that Daddy is giving him one last chance to eat or he'll have to go to bed without dinner or stories (the real kicker)
After coercing him into taking another bite, be proceeds to spit out all of his food all over the table... aaaarrrrrgggggghhhhhh!
So he gets sent to bed early without dinner or stories while the rest of us are still eating. What followed was complete mayhem. (I think I have a new understanding of the term "weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth!")

Though Monday night wasn't quite as bad, he still refused to eat anything and wanted to be sent to his room instead of eating. What's a mother to do? Can anyone PLEASE tell me that my kid is not the only one to have ever done this stuff at the age of 3! How am I supposed to react to this kind of stuff without losing my cool but still be firm enough so that he can understand that this sort of behavior is unacceptable? If you've got any pointers, suggestions, tips, advice, etc... please...HELP!

Song of the Week

2008-09-14T23:15:00.004-05:00

"Stranger" by Secondhand Serenade

I've gotta say that I think this is the best song yet by the singer and guitarist, John Vesely. It's touching and romantic, like so many of his other songs, but this time around even the music is sweet. An all around beautiful song to listen to. I love the lyrics of this song, but I'd have to say that the third verse is my favorite: "Your beauty seems so far away. I'd have to write a thousand songs to make you comprehend how beautiful you are. I know that I can't make you stay. But I would give my final breathe to make you understand how beautiful you are. Understand how beautiful you are." It's a song that makes me feel beautiful, as I hope it does you too, so of course I had to feature it! Enjoy!

Remembering 9/11

2008-09-11T15:12:00.004-05:00

September 11 is a big day for our family, for several reasons. First and foremost, this is a day to remember those who lost their lives 7 years ago through an act of inhumanity and terrorism.

This is a day for us to remember that evil really does exist and that, no matter how much we might try to deny it or plan against it, evil finds a way to rear its ugly little head (as mentioned this morning by Dennis Prager). That is why it is so important for us to stick together as a country and even more important for us to choose a president who understands this and will do everything in his power to fight evil, in all of its forms. I am grateful for those men and women who serve our country everyday to protect us from the evils of the world and who allow me and my family to sleep safely at night in our comfortable beds. God bless you and God bless America.

This is also an important day for our family because my grandmother died on September 11, 2000. She died from cancer and the decline of her health was very painful to watch. For those that read my tag post a few weeks back, this is the grandmother that my grandfather wanted me to drop out of college to come home and take care of while I was in school. But, being at the selfish stage in my life that I was in, I didn't do it... and I have regretted it ever since. My grandmother, Margaret Ruth Baugh, was one of the most amazing women that I have ever known (which is why my daughter shares her first name.) She had a knack for making you feel like YOU were her favorite grandchild and that her love was for you alone. Every summer I looked forward to spending a whole week at grandma and grandpa's house all by myself; something that she did for each of her grandchildren every year. While there, she made my favorite breakfasts every morning and took me to do fun things and to eat at fun places that I had never been to before. She also taught me how to clean (well), how to appreciate the outdoors, she instilled in me a love of gardening and yardwork and taught me how to appreciate beautiful art. My grandmother discovered very late in her life that she was a skilled painter and I am so blessed to have some of her art work hanging in my home. Some of my fondest memories of her are when we were all older and she would gather us in the kitchen to show us how to make one of her favorite recipes: swedish stolen bread (sort of like fruit cake, but more bready and not as fruity). Christmas time was my grandmother's favorite time of the year and her house was always filled with the most immaculate decorations. The last few christmases that we were able to spend with grandma, she started giving all of us glass ornaments (her favorite) to decorate our trees with when we were older. Those are now my favorite tree decorations and I love to pull them out from time to time and think of her. I love you so much, grandma... I miss you.

And lastly, we celebrate September 11 because this is my nephew, Andy Barney's, birthday. He was actually born just a few hours after my grandmother passed away, which helped to relieve some of the pain of that day. Andy turns 8 this year and he'll be getting baptized (I can't believe it!) I remember when that guy was just a little baby and I was still the "cool aunt"... man, how things change! Happy Birthday, Andy! We love you!

Song of the Week

2008-09-08T04:13:00.004-05:00

"Spam" by Save Ferris

I love ska and I love this song. It's so lighthearted and downright silly, but very catchy and fun to sing to. Ska at it's best! :)

My New Blog!

2008-09-08T03:56:00.002-05:00

I just started a new blog dedicated 100% to music called Audible Infatuations. It's still in the beginning stages, but come and check it out!

Fender Bender

2008-09-04T00:24:00.005-05:00

I like to consider myself to be a safe driver... fast, yes but very safe. But even fast, safe drivers are bound to have accidents. For instance, before yesterday the only collision I had ever been involved in was when I was hit by a house. I kid you not! An 18-wheeler was pulling half of a double-wide mobile home around a corner (that was obvious to everyone watching he wouldn't clear) when the house started getting really close to my car (I was stopped on the street that he was turning onto... a very narrow two-lane road.) I tried to back up, but there was a line of cars behind me. Rather than stopping to wait for me to move, the driver kept right on making his turn and sat there and watched while my car was slowly pushed off of the road by his house (during the process of which my windshield was broken, side mirror dislocated, front bumper removed and side door given a new, very stylish concave design.) Fortunately, my mom and I were fine and the driver's company just paid for everything up front rather than having me file a claim with their insurance. No harm done.

But as luck would have it, I had another accident yesterday (also while I wasn't moving... I'm noticing a pattern here.) But the real kicker? I wasn't even driving my car! I was test-driving a brand new Saturn Outlook! I wasn't even planning on buying one (yet), I just love the car and decided to take one for a spin while mine was getting an oil-change and inspection. I was in Lewisville, about to get on the service road to I-35 to head back to the dealership when, just as I started to pull out, this black car shot out of nowhere and almost crashed into the car that I was going to pull out of behind. Well, any SAFE (and sane) driver would apply the brakes so as not to RUN INTO that little black car or the car behind it that had to slam on his brakes. Following which there was a nice little SLAM! sound as our car was pushed forward several inches by the SUV behind us. Fortunately, there was more damage done to his car than the Outlook (especially since the cop asked in a very joking manner "So, is this one of those "You break it, you buy it" kind of deals?" (ha, ha.... nice one) But the thing that really got to me was when the guy WHO RAN INTO US proceeded to yell at ME and tell me in some very strong language that there was no traffic and that I need to learn how to drive. I tried to tell him in the nicest voice that I could muster that, as far as I'm aware, the rules of the road state that, at a yield sign, you can't go unless the car in front of you goes... period... the end. (He didn't like that too much.) Those of you who know that I don't like confrontations also know that it isn't because I'm afraid of them but because I always rise to the occasion and make matters worse. I must say that I'm very proud of my performance yesterday. Given the circumstances, I only yelled back at him a very little bit (I mean, don't tell me that your running into me was MY fault, but if you're going to insist on it, at least take your stinking bluetooth phone piece off of your ear before you do it!!!!) Needless to say, I sat in the car while waiting for the police officer to show up. What's the moral of this story? I give the Saturn Outlook 5 stars on its safety features as I have tested them personally! :-)

Yeah for Scanners!

2008-09-01T01:32:00.005-05:00

John and I finally got a new scanner so that I can load our wedding pics and his mission pics onto the computer. 'Cus... you know... digital is better.... right? Three cheers for scanners! :-)

The Lovebirds (picture #1 is proof why you should never go on a diet right before your wedding...and after the fitting.)

This is pretty much the only picture of me that I actually like.

My GQ Man... Ouch!!!

Song of the Week

2008-08-29T23:03:00.003-05:00

"Somebody" by Depeche Mode

I thought that I should feature this song next since I mentioned it in my survey as one of the 3 songs that I know EVERY word to (and b/c I've already featured Bohemian Rhapsody and Sarah McLachlan.) I actually prefer the live recording from their 101 cd (it's much sexier), but I couldn't locate a good recording so I settled for the original album version. Whenever I hear this song it makes me think of my oldest sister Christi, who was absolutely in love with these guys when I was still just a kid. She had gone to a concert and had the huge posters and pins (a definite sign of the '80s). I also have an urge to clean my house when I hear this song because I always blast '80s music when I clean. John always knows if I'm in a cleaning mood by what music I put in the cd player. The reason I love the live version so much is because it's just Martin Gore and the piano, probably my favorite combination for this kind of song. Anyway, I love it.

"Getting to Know All About You"

2008-08-27T22:51:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I decided to start my own questionaire since I've never been tagged for one (though I'm not sure why... I'm pretty cool....right?.... tell me I'm cool!.... I need to hear you say that I'm cool!!!) I'm not a big fan of the hokey ones with the silly questions, so I decided to make mine nice and juicy... and personal. For the people that I tag you can certainly plead the fifth... but then your coolness level will really suffer (take it from someone who's WAY cool!)

The Rules:
1. Post the rules
2. Answer the questions
3. Tag 5 people

1. What is your full name? Audrey Renea Sabin

2. What do you like to do in your spare time? Blog, read good books (esp. classics), listen to music, hang out with friends and hang out with my family

3. Name two of your biggest vices: 1) Not being patient enough with my children and spouse (but esp. my children); 2) I just can't break the habit.... I'm an avid nail-biter!

4. Name two of your biggest virtues: 1) I know how to LOVE.... especially kids that I teach and my own kids (and you, honey!); 2) I have an unwavering testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ

5. What is your biggest regret, up to this point? Not dropping out of college to take care of my grandmother before she died when my grandfather called me personally to ask if I would ( I was very close to her, but very caught up in the whole college scene...)

6. List 5 of your deepest, darkest desires (keeping it G-rated, of course): 1) I want to write children's stories and poetry and have it published (click here to read one of my poems); 2) I would love to open up an indoor rowing gym where people could come and compete in erg (ergometer/rowing machine) races, as well as just work out; 3) I know this is lame, but I would love to have my very first pedicure, facial and manicure (I didn't really get in touch with my feminine side until after Steven was born, and then I didn't have the money for stuff like that anymore!); 4) I've always wanted to sing a Sarah McLachlan song up on a stage for a ward talent show (in fact, when singing to Sarah I often invision myself in such a setting... I know I'm a freak); 5) To suddenly become a size 8 (or any single digit size, really...)

7. What do you consider a perfect day? A day spent in harmony with my family, doing anything really, then having some snuggle time with my hubby followed by a movie (Pride and Prejudice) with lots and lots of REALLY buttery popcorn and a box of Whoppers... all before 10:00 so that I can still have some "me" time.

8. Name 3 songs that you know EVERY word to: 1) Sarah McLachlan "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy"; 2) Depeche Mode "Somebody"; 3) Queen "Bohemian Rhapsody" (after all, I did have to sing the whole thing all by myself for a youth conference kareoke show!)

9. What fictional character do you secretly envy and wish you could become? Jane Bennet from Pride and Prejudice because she is so good and a little niave, but mostly because she is able to see the good in everyone, even when it seems obvious to others that they are undeserving of her goodwill.

10. What's the first thought that pops into your head when you see yourself in the mirror? "Man, I look good!" Just kidding, it's usually "Man, I need to start working out again."

'K, I hope you enjoyed that; now it's your turn. I tag: Bethanne, Kristi, Julie Gropp, Emily and Kelly. (Have fun with it, girls... I look forward to seeing the juicy side of you!)

Song of the Week

2008-08-21T01:34:00.008-05:00

"Feeling Good" by Michael Buble`

I know that it hasn't been a full week yet, but when I decide what song I'm going to feature next, I sometimes have a hard time waiting until Monday... and this one's good!

Okay, I don't know why I've had such a resistence to this guy, but I just never really listened to him or gave him a chance. My first exposure to Michael was the opening scene to the movie "Down With Love" (which was hilarious but waaaaaay too much in the sex department.) Being the huge fan of Jazz that I am, I immediately loved the song and could've sworn that I knew that voice... I didn't, but I loved it. So I've been listening to alot of Buble` on the internet and came across THIS song. Gotta say that I absolutely LOVE it... as well as so many of his other songs! Finally, a purist... none of that Josh Groban crossover mess. I can't handle crossovers.... okay, unless it's 311.... or Fiona Apple.... or Panic at the Disco....mmmmmmm.... maybe I just don't like Josh Groban. (Strong possibility!) Anyway, I love this song for lots of reasons. First and foremost, how can you not listen to this song without "feelin' good"? I mean, come on, everything about this song screams SEXY, aka "feelin' good"! Am I right!?!?! And I am definitely NOT a dancer, but I really just want to get up and dance some sexy, booty-swingin' dance to this song. (Sorry for any disturbing images that I may have placed in your head.... ERASE!) And what's crazy is that it's not even the words that get me moving; they're innocent enough. It's purely a reaction to the music itself (which is proof that music is a powerful force!) It's everything from the grungey, dirty brass to the swingin' bass line to the clinking piano chords.... and lets not forget that voice! Owwwwch! SEXY! (All I'm sayin' is, John, come sing to me like that and I'll stop everything for you...) For those of you who know me well, you're probably shocked to hear me talk this way since my middle name is prude, but I'm sorry... blame it all on the song!

I'm Sorry, But I Adore My Kids!

2008-08-21T01:09:00.003-05:00

So of course I have to show off these pics that I just found on my camera. (I say found because the batteries have been dead forever and I just replaced them.) I know that I was just complaining in my last post about a bad day, but I really do smother, uh, I mean LOVE my kids (to death.)

Being silly with Daddy (gotta love the hair!)

Gotta love that beautiful face! (Margaret, not me!)

Steven snuggling his favorite bed buddy, Lamb. (If you look closely, you'll see that Lamb has big-boy underwear on, too. They potty trained together, so they graduated to underwear together.)

One word: Mischief! (Are you proud of me, Bethanne?)

Steven's "messy" face. (He definitely takes after his mother... one speck of food on his clothes and he freaks out and changes his shirt... I'm a freak, I know!)

OH...MY...HECK...

2008-08-18T22:46:00.004-05:00

Today has been one of those days... you know what I'm talking about. You're caught wondering if it's really possible for a toddler to PMS; or just how high can a scream get before it's only audible to dogs...

or maybe there's some starving family in China who could really use the food under that highchair... you know, one of THOSE days. After enjoying a lovely day with Margaret during which all of the previously mentioned questions popped into my head, Steven gave an Oscar performance to finish off the evening. We couldn't even have Family Home Evening, he was so bad. And of course, sending him straight to bed on a Monday night without FHE treats was probably our fatal error... it's like taking away presents on Christmas or burning the Thanksgiving turkey. We, in effect, had a nuclear bomb on our hands that had exploded and all that remained was chaos....

Oh, how I love my children!

Song of the Week

2008-08-18T17:54:00.005-05:00

"Who's Crying Now" by Journey

Here's some good ole classic rock for you guys from some of the best! Bethanne, I'm not sure if this falls under your category of butt-rock or not, so let me know. I love the catchy, sexy rhythm of this song... very addictive. I want to go around singing "Na-na-na-na-na-na" after listening to it. Enjoy!

Checking In

2008-08-18T01:18:00.002-05:00

I posted recently about our plans to improve our family prayer and scripture study and I just wanted to check in for accountability purposes. We've been doing great! Since starting with the star chart at the beginning of the month, we've only missed one day and that was because we were out shopping all day (tax-free weekend) and then we went to a baptism the same night. By the time we got home it was just too late. John and I actually came up with some really fun ideas for our scripture study to try and make it more meaningful for Steven and to help him remember the stories that we read. During the last Worldwide Leadership Training meeting, Julie B. Beck said something about reading kids stories from the gospel art picture kits while they're young. So here's the plan that John and I came up with:

First of all, we decided to focus on the same story for the entire week to give Steven the opportunity to really remember what we're learning about. It wasn't until the fourth or fifth day that Steven realized that it was the same story, which was proof for us that repetition was a good thing.

Next, we came up with different ways to present the story for each day of the week:
1. Look at the picture from the gospel art picture kit and read the story on the back as an intro (we keep the picture displayed on an easel throughout the week to facilitate conversations or questions)
2. Draw/Color a scene from the story (then we display the pics somewhere prominent in the house)
3. Read the story in the scriptures (or a few excerpts, if it's a story that comprises several chapters, such as Jesus teaching the Nephites)
4. Act out the story/Role play (this is Steven's favorite part)
5. Discuss what lessons we learn from this particular story
6. Take turns telling the story to each other from memory
7. Read the story from the scriptures again (with the intent that this time around names and events will sound more familiar and recognizable)

Reading the scriptures this way as a family really has been so enjoyable, I must say. And I have definitely noticed a change in our home as a direct result; a recognizable increase in the spirit. Amazing how that works....

What are some ways that your family studies the scriptures together? Or do you have any suggestions for us on how to tweak ours up a bit?

A Tough Decision

2008-08-16T23:02:00.003-05:00

John and I don't really watch alot of TV... honestly. We usually just pop a movie in if we want to watch anything, so we never really know what's going on in the TV world. About a month ago we were stumped on what movie to get from Netflix , so John's sister recommended we start watching a few tv shows. At the top of her list were "The Office" and "24". After looking into both of them, we decided to go with "24" since I was already familiar with the creative team behind it (they were the same guys that did "La Femme Nikita", one of my favorite shows in college.) We ordered the the first 4 episodes of season 1... it came in the mail... we popped some popcorn... got out the pillows and blankets... and we were set to go. By the time the first episode ended, John and I were both sitting up straight on the couch with the covers thrown off and just staring at each other with the same word on our lips... "Wow!" It was so good and mind-blowing. I hadn't really known what to expect, but I certainly didn't expect it to be so focused on the family relationship. Before I get into the pros and cons of the show, I just want to clarify that we have just finished season 2 and we've mutually agreed to put the show on hold for awhile... we need a break.

I want to list the positives about this show first:
1. Characters in this show are constantly faced with really hard, moral dilemmas concerning what is best for the most people... even if it means that someone (even someone you know) might die
2. I love watching shows in which the military/armed forces are depicted as the real heroes that they are; not blundering idiots. It fills me with a certain sense of patriotism, which I love.
3. It is very moving to watch a family that was broken come together even closer than before due to very stressful and trying circumstances. I would have to say that THAT particular story line was the most endearing part of the entire show for me... especially when the mom and daughter who used to never get along were about to be killed together and the camera focuses on them holding hands just before they are about to die. Where's the tissue?
4. The mystery and suspense is certainly not lacking, for those of us who really get into that sort of thing

And now the negatives:
1. I would have to say that my number one problem with this show is the blatant lack of reverence for the sanctity of life. People literally die left and right in this show, and it's usually in a very graphic way. I understand that Jack Bauer is dealing with the most evil people in the world, but really.... enough is enough.
2. Waaaayyyy too much torture going on for me; especially in season 2. I think we counted 4 seperate torture situations in season 2 and all of them were very graphic and very looong. I just can't handle that kind of stuff. (On a positive note, however, there was a stark difference between how the good guys tortured someone and how the bad guys did.)
3. This show really did give me nightmares and made it hard for me to leave my children and go to bed at night. I was constantly thinking of all of the bad things that could happen to them because of all of the evil people in the world that we are just oblivious to. I remember balling my eyes out one night while praying before I went to bed just begging Heavenly Father to please keep my children safe and never let anything like that happen to them. Not something that I really like to dwell on, you know...

So John and I decided to stop watching "24" because we felt like it really wasn't inviting the spirit into our home or putting us into the right frame of mind for the next day. I know that may not be the decision for everyone, but it's what we decided would be best for our home.

Bejiing 2008

2008-08-14T16:00:00.005-05:00

The Olympics are well under way and still I haven't made time to sit down and actually watch any of it. When I do, it'll definitely be to watch the rowing.

It's been a long time since I've been in a boat, but man does watching it bring back alot of memories (most of them good.) Just look at those women... that's (almost) what I used to look like in college! Now.....

Yep... sad but true. I've just let myself go. If only I could lay off the brownies. But alas, it is my one weakness!

I'm getting so old!

2008-08-13T19:06:00.002-05:00

I was out weeding the flower beds this afternoon and feeling pretty good with all that I was accomplishing. But when I came in and finished cleaning up, I couldn't bend over and my feet were killing me! I remember (not so long ago) when I could work out in the yard forever and sure, be a little sore, but nothing like this. Man!!!! I'm getting OLD!!! This has nothing to do with the fact that I'll just be that much closer to 30 this week (yeah, right.) Or that I'm the unhealthiest that I've ever been in my life right now. Or, now that I think about it, maybe I just did too much too soon after surgery. But let's face it, there's just not time to sit around on your duff and let the weeds grow (or the house get dirty, or the kids go unfed, etc...). Especially when the HOA is breathing down your neck to fix the garden beds, even if you have only lived in the neighborhood for a few months and still recovering from the move, financially. Sure, just let me go and spend $80 bucks that I don't have on mulch, tools, gloves and everything that I would need to accomplish the job because we have nothing (a plus for living in an apartment) on hand. I have to admit that these beds are atrocious and I was already planning on fixing them up, but not yet, for crying out loud! Oh well, that's life. Do you have any HOA horror stories to share? :)

Song of the Week

2008-08-13T18:52:00.003-05:00

Main Theme from "Superman" by John Williams

We've been listening to this music, along with the theme from E.T., alot lately. John has started having movie nights once a week with Steven while I work. Needless to say, Steven loves it and eats it up, as well as John. So far, they have watched Superman, E.T., An American Tail and the beginning of Star Wars. Steven, after having only seen Superman one time, was running through the house last week singing this song at the top of his lungs. I was so surprised with how well he remembered it. For some fun, we turned on one of our John Williams CDs that had theme songs for alot of movies that he has composed for. Most important to Steven, though, was that it had Superman, E.T. and Star Wars on it. We now listen to that CD at least once a day so that Steven can run around the living room like a crazy man. Fun!

Our Game Plan

2008-08-07T15:53:00.002-05:00

I know that most of you are already really great at having family prayer and scripture study (I can just tell), but it has been something that John and I have both struggled with since we've been married. We've done it off and on, but never very consistently, and it's something that's been on my mind ALOT lately. So our FHE lesson this week (which we have ALWAYS done consistently) was on living the gospel in our daily lives. We had already had previous lessons on prayer and family scripture study, so this lesson was meant to get us to develop a plan to implement them more regularly. We decided to print a calendar for this month and hang it up on the fridge. For everyday that we have family prayer and read the scriptures together, we put two stars on the corresponding day on the calendar. If we fill up the calendar with stars on every day, then we get to have a family treat (John and Steven decided that we should go to Pump It Up, Jr). So far, so good. I decided to do it this way, because it also got Steven more excited about doing it everyday, and he has started to remind us about prayer and scripture study too! He is very aware of those stars. If this continues to work for us, then hopefully, after a few months we will have developed this righteous pattern in our home.

In the ward that we just moved from, the bishop was very keen on each family developing patterns of righteousness in their lives by seeking daily doses of the spirit. While we certainly believed his teachings and admonishings, we didn't have any real changes in our family that occurred. Something was lacking, on our side. I don't know why, but ever since we have been in our new ward, I have felt a constant desire to improve myself and really take to heart his teachings. Maybe it has something to do with the opportunity to start over; I don't know. All I know is that we still have the ward goals from our last ward hanging on our fridge and that I have a greater desire than ever to really follow through with them. Things like keeping a journal for at least a quarter, making a personal goal regarding my temple attendance and faithfully fulfilling home and visiting teaching assignments. But as a foundation to all of these, our family MUST pray and study the scriptures together, as well as me doing these things personally. I have seen people who grew up doing these things with their families since they were young, and most of them are amazing people whom I try to emmulate. Having NOT grown up with these patterns of righteousness, it is a struggle for John and myself to try to establish them for our family (not that it isn't a struggle for those that have, but you know what I mean.) I want, more than anything, for my children to be like those amazing people that I know. To have them grow up with these patterns in their home so that they can take them and use them with their families when they are older. To not have to struggle over the basics like I do. But I know that alot of that begins with me.... I have alot of work to do...

A Big Thank-You

2008-08-07T15:47:00.004-05:00

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has helped our family while I've been recovering. It has been such a blessing to have meals brought to us and to have people help with the kids. Most especially, I want to thank my mom and all that she does for our little family. The kids are so excited to see you (again) tonight, and I'm looking forward to visiting with you too, now that I'm awake! I love you, Mom. You mean so much to me and our family and life just wouldn't be the same without you.

I'm Alive and I Survived!

2008-08-05T16:22:00.002-05:00

I finally have the energy to sit at the computer and work on my blog today. After last Thursday, I haven't really felt THAT much pain, mostly just exhausted and lots of backaches from having to sleep on my back everynight (I'm definitely a stomach girl, myself!) My sister-in-law requested surgery pics in her last comment, but I have to admit that I don't have any. There is absolutely no way that I am posting pictures of my, shall we say, lovely stomach on the internet for the whole world to see! I didn't even take the camera with me to the hospital and no pictures since I've been home... it just didn't seem like one of those picture taking moments. Sorry to disappoint everyone. Thank you to everyone for all of your words of encouragement, though I didn't even read them until this past weekend.

I meant to update everyone on Steven's potty training before I had my surgery, but I forgot. He is comepletely 100% potty trained, aka Master of the Potty! We were having a hard time getting him to poop on the potty, but finally, his Aunt Christi promised him a candy bar if he would do it and then we threw a candy bar into the pot (as in the gambling pot) too, and the very next day he went and hasn't looked back since! Go Steven! (For those of you who already knew this info, sorry for the repeat!)

Other than that, I've just been hangin' at the house with the kids, trying to pick them up as little as possible, until I feel like I'm ready for a trip. So feel free to stop by! :)

Temporarily Out of Commission

2008-07-26T14:00:00.002-05:00

I know that I haven't blogged very much this week, but I've been trying to get the house in order for next week, as well as trying to squeeze in a little extra work. As some of you may already know, I'm having surgery on Monday morning to FINALLY have my gall-bladder removed. I've been having attacks for the last 2 1/2 years, not knowing what they were, so I'm very glad to be getting this taken care of. At the same time, I've never had a surgery like this in my life, so I'm starting to get a little nervous. I don't really know what to expect, before or after, and I haven't been asking around for fear of tainting my own experience. I've talked to the doctor, and that's it. Anyway, John will be taking me to the surgery center in Denton at 7:00 in the morning and I'll be home sometime later that day. My mom will be watching the kids (thanks mom) and John will be home most of the week to watch the kids, except Friday when my sister-in-law will watch them (thanks Jennifer!) I don't know when I'll start blogging again, but hopefully sooner than later. Everyone be good and stay safe!

Song of the Week

2008-07-26T13:54:00.003-05:00

"Something Perfect" by Michael McLean

I just heard this song for the first time about ten minutes ago, but I liked it immediately and thought that it would make a great "song of the week". Since I won't be blogging for awhile, I wanted to leave everyone on a positive note. Hope you enjoy it!

FHE Reunion

2008-07-18T12:56:00.003-05:00

John and I hosted an FHE Reunion at our house this past Sunday night. Back when we were newly married without any kids, there was a group of us that would get together every Monday night for FHE. We kept getting together even after a few of the families had their babies. Then the Thatchers (traitors!) decided that they needed to start having their own FHEs so that they could start teaching Caden before he went to Primary. After that, the whole group split up and we havn't all gotten together for a really long time. So Sunday night we had the Lancasters and the Thatchers over for dinner and it was so fun to catch up. There were a few more families that were a part of our group, but they've all moved away... so it was just us. We'll have to do it again soon.

Here are all of the kids: Margaret, Noah, Steven, Hannah and Caden

Ben and Summer, Kelly and Alma, John and Audrey (Margaret)

Happy Late Birthday

2008-07-18T12:24:00.002-05:00

When Margaret turned 1, I made a DVD for her with lots of pictures from her first year set to music. Steven saw me making it and requested one for his next birthday, too. Unfortunately, I haven't had alot of time to work on it, so I just finished last night. The original movie is about 20 minutes long; I figured only John, myself and grandparents would be interested in watching a 20-minute video all about Steven. So I created a very condensed version for everyone else to see (I can't even begin to express how hard it was to cut pictures out; like cutting off an arm or something!) I hope everyone enjoys this tribute to Steven! (Don't forget to scroll to the bottom and turn the music off first!)

Song of the Week

2008-07-16T14:15:00.004-05:00

"Happy Working Song" by Amy Adams

I was just thinking about the movie "Enchanted" this afternoon and how well it was done. After watching this and then going back and watching "Snow White", you can totally see who Amy Adams was copying with all of her silly hand movements and poses. I love this movie, and I love this song... it is absolutely hilarious! My favorite part is when she sings "So friends, even though you're vermin we're a happy working song." I don't know if you remember (or if you've even seen the movie) but she's cleaning the house with rats, pigeons and cockroaches, aka "vermin". Hilarious.

Another New Look

2008-07-16T01:11:00.002-05:00

Thank you to everyone who voted for my previous new layout. Even though the vote was unanimous to keep it, I made an executive decision to change it anyway (the perks of being the sole contributor!) I made even more changes, and I hope that you like them. You can still vote whether or not you like it, but I don't think I'll change it again, regardless... this was too much work! :)

New Look

2008-07-12T15:33:00.003-05:00

As you can see, I've changed the look of my blog to something very different from what it was before (but brown is still the dominant color... an absolute must!) I've been going back and forth between this and a few other things, so leave a comment and let me know what you think. Is it a keeper? Or should I trash it?

Song of the Week

2008-07-10T16:07:00.002-05:00

"Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" by Aerosmith

Trying to choose a favorite Aerosmith song is, for me, like trying to choose a favorite book. There are so many great ones out there, and all of them bring back some memory or another. I chose this song because it always brings to my mind Robin Williams dressed as a woman in the Mrs. Doubtfire movie, which I happen to love. Though Steven Tyler is sometimes hard to watch, I do enjoy listening to him sing. This is just one of those American rock band staples. If you don't like Aerosmith, then you're just a freak of nature!

Please Don't Call CPS!

2008-07-10T15:46:00.003-05:00

I went to Enrichment Tuesday night and left John with the kids. As I was uploading pictures onto the computer this afternoon, this is what I found (note: turn the music off at the bottom of the page before playing):

I'll have to ask John why Steven was so upset, but I guess he thought it would be funny to film the temper tantrum instead of trying to help. What is it with Dads, anyway?

Current Events

2008-07-10T15:14:00.004-05:00

We've had lots of exciting things happening in the Sabin home lately. Last Thursday morning, Margaret woke up with little red spots on her arms and legs. I didn't know what to make of it and she was acting fine, so I didn't think anything of it. When she woke up that afternoon, they were everywhere. Here are the pictures:

I tried to call the doctor's office, but they were already closed for the holiday weekend. My mom came over and she said that they looked like hives and to dope Margaret up with Benedryl. By the time she woke up on Friday morning, I was so shocked that she wasn't screaming from the discomfort, it looked so bad. All of my family pitied her when we got together for the 4th, but other than being covered in huge red splotches, Margaret was her normal, cheesey self. By Saturday morning, most of the hives had cleared and everything was back to normal by Sunday morning. It was a little scary because I didn't know if my little girl had chicken pox or something, but everything turned out all right. We still don't know what the culprit was, though we have a few ideas.

Steven is continuing to potty train, though he pretty much has it down. He's still not pooping in the potty, so if anyone has any suggestions, let me know. He'll sit on the potty for so long and then poops as soon as he gets off and back into underwear. It drives me nuts, though I try not to show it. We haven't tried actual underwear during naps or at night yet, but I think we will soon because his pull-up is always dry when he wakes up and he uses the potty first thing. I think HE'S ready, I just need to get on board.

Showing off his big boy underwear

I walked in on Steven washing his hands like this, so of course I had to take a picture!

For FHE this week we had our Independence Day lesson and why we celebrate it. We had Watermelon for a treat with our dinner and things started to get a little crazy.

We only feed our children the rinds of the Watermelon. j/k

Margaret was doing something to make Steven really crack up

Apparantly I'm the only one that eats the red part

Oh well, Margaret seems to like the rinds!

Steven's Party

2008-07-10T14:15:00.008-05:00

We finally got together with my side of the family (and a few friends) to celebrate Steven's 3rd birthday. I wish that I would have thought to take pictures of the kids while they were outside playing with water guns, eating, swimming, etc. I didn't even get a picture of the cake!!! I don't know exactly where my mind was that day, but it was the end of a very long week so try to forgive me. Basically, I just have pictures of Steven opening his presents and then he and Margaret playing with them later that day.

Getting ready to open presents

It feels so good to finally out-do the grandparents and have the coolest present. Steven opened it up and shouted "Bob the Builder!"

Steven's very cool Spiderman car

Steven got a cool car launcher, which he refers to as his car "beomer" ("beom" is the sound effect that he makes whenever he shoots anything.)

I don't know what he got in this shot; the cousins were just as excited about his presents as he was (if not more!)

Here's Bob the Builder and Wendy

Bob and Wendy working hard

Bob the Builder with no pants... very fetching

"Can we fix it? Yes we can!"

Out With the Diapers, In With the Potty

2008-07-02T22:54:00.003-05:00

Steven's been potty training since Monday and, while Monday was wonderful, yesterday and today have been awful. Here are the stats as they stand:

Day 1: Successes - 8 Accidents - 0 Poop - 0

Day 2: Successes - 2 Accidents - 5 Poop - 1

(the biggest accident was the poop!)

Day 3: Successes - 1 Accidents - 0 Poop - 0

(for some reason, Steven held everything in until I put the Pull-Up on for nap-time, then he let it all out!)

I must say that I am completely exhausted from this, and I've even had John's help! This is why I have put it off for so long, because I just don't think that I have the stamina for this sort of thing right now. Needless to say, tomorrow is another day and I sure hope that it's a better one!

These were obviously taken on Monday... when everyone was still excited about potty training!

Song of the Week

2008-07-02T22:48:00.004-05:00

"Come on Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners

So this is one of those songs that I've grown up with and it takes me back everytime I hear it. I love to sing, dance, clean... you name it, to this song. It has always been one of my absolute faves. So I just learned what the bands name stands for; bummer. It all has to do with drugs. Oh well, I guess that's why they were just a one-hit wonder! Enjoy.

Song of the Week

2008-06-24T16:00:00.002-05:00

"Gravity" by Sara Bareilles

I like this song for the simple fact that it's not "Love Song". I don't know how many times I've heard that song, and it's a good song, but she's got other great songs too. I like this one alot and the feel of it. I'd have to say that my favorite part is when she sings the word "down", yet her pitch and the music are ascending. It's nice to have some irony in music every once in awhile instead of having everything thrown at you in such a straight forward manner all of the time. Enjoy!

Playing Catch-Up

2008-06-24T14:26:00.007-05:00

I'm sorry that I haven't been able to post much lately; I've been so busy with work and the kids (I'm sure that no one else can relate to that!) Here are some pics of what's been going on lately in the Sabin home.

Margaret wants to do everything just like her big brother, including standing on the stool and brushing her teeth at the sink. Steven stayed close for moral support and, as you can see, she loved every minute of it.

Steven found this face mask in one of our 72-hour kits and proceeded to growl like a monster for the next half-hour.

That is, after he realized that it was a face mask and not a hat!

Steven has found his new favorite spot for sleeping. Can you guess where it is?

I'm ashamed to admit it, but our son now sleeps on his closet floor. I know what you're thinking, "You're such a bad parent", but believe me when I say that Steven did this of his own free will and choice! Kids are so crazy... especially mine!

Song of the Week

2008-06-16T16:10:00.003-05:00

"Life's Not a Race" by 311

I was introduced to 311 in college by some of the guys in drumline with me. They were all obsessed over Chad Sexton, the drummer. I must admit, he is pretty awesome. His rolls, flams, cheeses and diddles are some of the best that I've heard; all very tight (those are all percussion terms, for those who don't know). Alot of their music is simply unlistenable due to too much profanity, but every once in awhile there comes along a jewel that I can actually listen to (or others that aren't too bad). I think I've admitted this before, but 311 is a guilty pleasure of mine. As soon as I heard them for the first time, I really fell in love with their raggae/rap/rock style. At the time, it was very original and I love to listen to it.

Horton Hears a Who

2008-06-16T15:29:00.003-05:00

John and I took the kids to see this movie at the dollar theater today and we loved it! So many wonderful messages in it and very clean. I give it 4 1/2 stars and recommend it to everyone who likes good, clean family films.
(You'll need to scroll down to the bottom and stop the music before viewing.)

Attempt Number Two

2008-06-11T22:34:00.001-05:00

Here are the results for my second hairstyle attempt on Margaret. This one is called the "Dual Puffy Braid". It was pretty easy and now its John's favorite.

What it's supposed to look like

What mine looks like from the top

And from the side

I can't figure out how to get my parts as neatly sectioned as hers, but maybe someone has some tips for that? So far, I'm still enojoying this but Margaret starts running away when she sees me break out the come and detangler spray. As a result, I usually end up leaving a style in for a few days before I was her hair and give her another one. They actually last that long!!!

A Day in the Life of a Superhero

2008-06-11T17:10:00.000-05:00

Steven came across his Buzz Lightyear costume from Halloween and insisted on wearing it all day long. I had to take pics, of course, but I wish that I would have remembered to grab the video camera. He kept running through the house shouting "To infinity and beyond!"; it was great!

"Good morning, Supermom!"

What's a superhero without his pacies?

"Not now, supermom; I'm trying to watch Superwhy!"

Breaktime!

At the end of a hard-days work.

Song of the Week

2008-06-11T16:43:00.001-05:00

"Dreams" by The Cranberries

I've loved this song ever since it came out. When I was alot younger, it was one of those songs that sounded great and I loved to sing to it (the harmonies are awesome!), but I never knew what the words were! Come to find out, it's just another love song. But that's okay because I still like to sing to it and it brings back lots of memories from high school. The band just released a new CD titled "Gold" in March of this year which contains all of their singles and big hits; looks pretty good. Enjoy!

Random Pics

2008-06-05T16:56:00.001-05:00

I feel like I have so much to blog about since I've been gone for nearly two weeks! Here are just some random pics of the kids:

This stroller was given to us for Margaret when she was just a baby. Steven happened upon it a few days later and immediately took it over (he's obviously very secure with his manhood.) Yesterday was the first day that there was an issue over who the stroller acually belonged to. Steven says it's his because he's been playing with it for over a year, but now Margaret is actually old enough to play with it, too. I think we're going to have to break down and get another one (blue or something) for him and let her have the very girly one for herself.

Steven was very jealous when I was taking pictures of Margaret's hair yesterday and insisted that I take pictures of everyone else's hair too!

Lessons Learned

2008-06-05T16:11:00.001-05:00

Here are 10 things that I've learned as a result of our move from an apartment into a house:

10. Just because its free doesn't mean its good
9. Don't get a bigger moving truck than you can use or lots of stuff gets broken
8. Never own a glass dining table... (sorry, Dan I had to add it! But I really did hate the table anyway! I promise!)
7. The Elder's Quorom and Family are priceless and deserve much thanks.
6. Never try to move (including all packing, phone calls, etc) in 3 days...
5. Almost doubling your square footage, gaining 3 extra (and free) parking spaces, and having a yard are sooooooooo worth the trouble of moving!
4. Just because the doors of the bedrooms are "split" doesn't mean you aren't still right next to your kids' rooms.
3. Make sure that you move into a clean house so that you don't spend an entire day cleaning your apartment in order to get your deposit back (thanks again, Kanzlers!) and then have to turn around and clean your entire house before you can put things away. (If I see another pair of yellow cleaning gloves I think I'll throw myself out the window... wait, we're on the first floor now...)
2. I'm so glad to have such a wonderful husband who was willing to take on so much of the planning/grunt work of the actual move. I love you, John! Thank you for working so hard!
1. It feels really good knowing that you are doing what the Lord has in mind for you and your family. Even if things don't always look good on paper, if you follow the promptings of the spirit, you will be blessed.

Great Commercial

2008-06-05T15:58:00.001-05:00

I got this from Julie Rose's blog and thought it was great! The world IS awesome!

Not Bad for a First Attempt

2008-06-05T02:14:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I was having a conversation with a friend of mine, Julie Young, about how inept I am when it comes to fixing Margaret's hair. Ponytails and pigtails I've got down, but anything more complex than that and I'm completely lost.

She referred me to these two wonderful blogs that are full of little girl hair tips: Girly Do's and She Does Hair. I've had so much fun just looking at all of the beautiful things these moms have done with their daughter's hair. Most of them look way too hard for me (and Margaret), but I did decide to give one of the easier ones a try today. It's called the "short hair part puffy braid" (a mouthful, I know!) I think it turned out pretty well! Here is the example pic of the finished product and a pic of my finished product on Margaret:

I'm so excited that I can't wait to try something new tomorrow! Who knew that you could have so much fun with hair!?!?!

Song of the Week

2008-06-04T00:28:00.000-05:00

"The Lovecats" by The Cure

I'm almost embarrased to say this, but The Cure is a relatively new band for me. Sure, I always knew their big radio hits like "Friday I'm in Love", "Just Like Heaven" and "Close to Me", but I never really got into all of their other stuff until my oldest sister and I started swapping CDs to add to our iTunes. I borrowed this CD among many others and loved alot of the songs. Who knows, maybe this song was a big radio hit and I just don't remember, but all I know is that I LOVE this song. To say nothing for the AWESOME walking bass intro (yes, I'm partial to the bass), I love the words and I love the way Robert Smith delivers them. Most of all, though, I love all of his sound effects and growls throughout the song. I think it takes a very secure person to sing the way Smith does, not just in this song but in all of his songs. Overall, the song is very happy and peppy and you can't deny that toe-tapping, hip-swaying feeling that comes over you when you listen. Enjoy!

I'm Baaa-aaack

2008-06-03T23:18:00.000-05:00

We finally got our internet connection back up tonight at 6:00pm and it feels great to be connected with the world again! For those of us who are just a little phone shy, the internet and e-mail really are our only link with the outside world.

We've been in our new house for almost two weeks now and I must say that we love it here! Aside from all of the space (our entire family of four can be in the kitchen at the same time now without stepping on each other... or at least we could if we didn't have two refrigerators!), it is so wonderful to just step outside and be in your backyard to play. No more multiple trips hauling toys and tots up and down stairs to play outside in dog-poop infested apartment grass... we have our own dog-poop-free grass right outside our door!!!! :) We had a picnic on the patio last Friday for lunch and it was so fun; something we've never been able to do before. Sure, we had a patio at our apartment, but I never let the kids play out there because I was so paranoid about one of them figuring out how to climb through or over the rails and falling two floors to the ground. (Or at the very least, that toys would fall two floors to the ground and yours truly would be playing fetch all afternoon!) Margaret's sleeping habits have improved now that they have their own rooms; no more in and out with putting Steven down and him getting up in the middle of the night. Steven's sleeping habits have taken a nose-dive, however, unless you count sleeping with us every night at the ripe old age of 3 as healthy! I had taken off work for the end of May to move and get settled and just started back on Monday... that was painful (in more ways than one!)

We're really breaking in the new place with lots of sickness and health issues. Steven had a 24-hour virus on Memorial Day and spent the entire day laying in bed or on the couch with really shallow breathing and a high temp. The worst part was that our air wasn't working properly so it was burning up in our house. Fortunately, he woke up Tuesday morning just as chatty as ever and ready to play, so I didn't end up taking him in. Meanwhile, I suffered from three gallstone attacks last week, the most I've ever had in such a short period of time. The first one was during my first Relief Society in the new ward, so I completely missed out on that. It was sharp and very painful and I was on the floor in the bathroom for 45 minutes. The next one was on Tuesday and it lasted about 5 hours. It was a dull, constant pain with moments of sharp pain mixed in. Finally, when the kids started waking up from their naps and I knew that I couldn't take care of them, I called my mom and asked her if she would come over and take care of the kids while I coped. She was such a lifesaver. Thanks, mom! I couldn't have made it through the day without you! My most recent attack was on Saturday, during John's piano recital. I stayed home, fortunately, because I had felt it coming on for several hours and when it finally hit hard, I had to call mom again. Sorry you didn't get to see Andy play in the recital, mom, but thanks again! I love you!

As many of you know, John is self-employed so we don't get group insurance. I can get private insurance, but they won't cover anything to do with my gallbladder or digestive system while I have this problem... ever. So we've been saving up to pay for the surgery ourselves. Going off of the bill that my friend, Bethanne showed me from her surgery a year ago we were expecting to pay several thousands of dollars for treatment. I finally met with a specialist on Thursday just to make sure that surgery was necessary (and because I'd been having so many recent attacks) and we were pleasantly surprised to find that everything would cost a lot less than we had budgeted. So we're planning on surgery around the end of the summer and praying and fasting that I won't have too many attacks until then.

My most recent problem has been very irritating and depressing: poison ivy. I was out pulling weeds in our front garden patch and came across a huge bush of it. Fortunately for me, I had gloves on, but I still managed to touch it somehow. As some of you may remember, I have ALWAYS been highly allergic to the stuff to the point that doctor's were concerned about it getting into my bloodstream once because I had it so bad. Here's what it looks like today after two doses of steroid cream:

The darn stuff is on my right arm right below my wrist, which is highly inconvenient. It's very hard to pick up Margaret and do anything with her because I don't want her to touch it. I hate cooking or doing laundry or anything because I feel like I'm going to contaminate the whole house, even though I know it's not contagious right now (if I take the proper precautions.) Anyway, I hate poison ivy and I'm so depressed right now; I feel like a leper. Does anyone know of a river that I can go and bathe in to take this away? :)

A Temporary Hiatus

2008-05-21T01:59:00.000-05:00

Sadly, I have to announce that I will be taking a temporary hiatus from blogging while we move this week. I'm not sure how long it will take to get our internet up and running in the new house, but I'll be back as soon as I can. And then WATCH OUT!

The kids are so excited about moving into our "big house" and being able to run, jump, fall and stomp without me having to say "Please stop stomping; that's too loud for our neighbors." In fact, the kids came with me on Monday to take a load of stuff to the house and all they wanted to do was chase each other in circles around our empty living room; all I could do was sit in the middle and laugh. Good times, good times.

Peace out!

One Down, One to Go!

2008-05-19T06:44:00.000-05:00

John graduated on Saturday with his Master's in Piano Performance and Pedagogy degree! Yeah! Congratulations, honey! One down and only one more to go! He still has to finish his thesis and have it published before he can graduate with his second Master's in Music History, but the goal is to be done by December. Ahhhhhh, it feels good to see the light at the end of the tunnel!

John walking to his seat

John was the name reader for the department of music

Way to go, Daddy!

"You'd better give me a kiss!"

John with his parents and younger sister, Lisa

Happy 3rd Birthday!!!

2008-05-17T13:23:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it, but Steven actually turned 3 yesterday. He's just growing up way too fast! We had a busy day yesterday as we celebrated and played hard. In the morning he opened one of his presents from us (Candyland) so that we could play before Margaret woke up. Then we all got ready for the day and went to eat donuts at our favorite donut shop. Then we drove out to Plano and played at Pump It Up Jr. for a looooong time until we were all tuckered out. Margaret went down for a nap after lunch, then Steven, Daddy and I played another game of Candyland before Steven's nap. In the evening we went to dinner at Uncle Julio's with most of John's family where we celebrated Steven's birthday and John's graduation (which is today.) We ate lots of food, then we ate birthday/graduation cupcakes and sang "Happy Birthday" to Steven, though he couldn't even hear us b/c it was so loud in the restaurant and he was busy playing with his cousin Tristen. Then we went outside to a little patio area and Steven opened way too many presents (most of which were Thomas themed, though not on purpose.) It was a great and busy day, and the kids crashed when we came home. And now they're already crashed again (I love it when naptime is easy like this!) Of course I had to take pics of everything we did! Happy Birthday Steven! We love you so much and we're so glad that you are a part of our family!!!!

Ready to play Candyland in Mom and Dad's bed

Yummy donuts

"Ahhhh, I feel much better"

"Don't even think about taking this motorcycle, Margaret"

Margaret was climbing and sliding as much as Steven

Steven falls out of a tunnel

A glimpse into the future when our kids have their license

Of course Steven won, but he only cheated a little bit

Aunt Jennifer and cousin Sidney at the restaurant

Steven opening ANOTHER Thomas present

Our House, "It's Our Castle and Our Keep!"

2008-05-15T00:33:00.000-05:00

Well, we finally found a house in Little Elm that we're happy to call home. We were really excited when we went to look at it because it had a wooden playset in the backyard that the realtor said would come with the house. However, later that same day the landlord sent a crew over to do some maintenance on the yard and exterior and in the process they dismanteled the playset and took it away. By the time our realtor had expressed our interest in the house, it was too late. Man! Not that the house isn't great without the playset, but it was definitely a selling point for us. So we're moving to Little Elm next Saturday (May 24th)!

I have pictures posted, but they're not of our exact house but one with the same elevation and floor plan. Our house was pulled off of the listings the same day that our application was approved and it wasn't until later that I thought to save the pics for my blog. Oh well, you still get the idea. The only differences between these pics and our house are colors (carpet, ceramic tile, backsplash, and brick.) Enjoy!

Ours is flipped around with the garage on the right

Formal dining, though ours doesn't have a chandelier

Living Room with fire place

Kitchen with built-in microwave and 10-in cabinets

His and hers sink in master bath with walk-in closet

Published Artist

2008-05-15T00:26:00.000-05:00

My sister-in-law Lisa is a VERY gifted artist and just finished her degree at BYU. She is now working for the Dallas Observer and this week she secured the cover with one of her illustrations. Lisa says "I did an illustration for the cover of the Dallas Observer, where I work, this week. I attached a jpeg for your viewing pleasure. I am very pleased with it, and the fact that our newspaper's ciculation is about 90,000, so lots of people will see it! The feature story is about the writer attending our Texas Scarborough Faire and becoming a "monster hunter" for the weekend. She specializes in zombie and ogre killing and is basically the Trinity (from the Matrix) of the Faire, so the fun comic-book style is appropriate. Thanks for looking!"

Congratulations, Lisa!!!

Song of the Week

2008-05-13T20:49:00.000-05:00

"Full of Grace" by Sarah McLachlan

I had such a hard time choosing the song for this week. I knew that I wanted to feature Sarah because anyone who knows me knows that Sarah and I are tight like that (or at least we WOULD be if she knew me), but choosing my favorite Sarah song is like trying to choose a "favorite star in the heavens." I finally decided on "Full of Grace" b/c I feel like it's a prime example of all that I love about Sarah. I love how her music is just right, whether I'm up or down. I've listened to her ever since she was an underground Canadian hit, and I've always felt like her music perfectly fits my mood. Some people have a hard time listening to Sarah for a long time, but that would definitely not be me. Her music is so lush with harmonies and melodies that it's easy to get swept away in. My favorite feature about Sarah's voice is how she can shift from chest to head voice and back so seamlessly. Listening to her voice as she effortlessly moves up to hit those high notes with such clarity is like listening to Gil Shaham as he moves up the fingerboard of his violin; I'm completely carried away in the moment and I feel as if I, too, am rising up to some celestial home. It might sound a bit dramatic to you, but music like Sarah's has such a powerful effect on me. Though I would never put her in the same class as some of my favorite opera singers (TeKanawa, Bonney, Von Stade, Fleming), the effect that her voice (and music) can have on me is very similar to what I might experience while listening to one of them.

Political Comedy

2008-05-07T04:01:00.000-05:00

I saw this on my brother-in-law's website and I had to borrow it, I thought it was so funny!

Are you a Democrat, Republican, or Southerner?

You're walking down a deserted street with your wife and two small children. Suddenly, an Islamic Terrorist with a large knife comes around the corner, locks eyes with you, and screams obscenities, praises Allah, raises the knife, and charges at you. You are carrying a Glock cal 40 and are an expert shot. You have mere seconds before he reaches you and your family. What do you do?

Democrat's answer: "Well, that's not enough information to answer the question! Does the man look poor? Or oppressed? Have I ever done anything to him that would inspire him to attack? Could we run away? What does my wife think? What about the kids? What does the law say about this situation? Why am I carrying a loaded gun anyway, and what kind of message does this send to society and to my children? Does he definitely want to kill me, or would he be content just to wound me? Should I call 9-1-1? Why is this street so deserted? We need to raise taxes, have a paint and weed day, and make this a happier, healthier street that would discourage such behavior."

Republican's answer: BANG!

Southerner's answer: BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! Click....(sounds of reloading) BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! Click

Daughter: Nice grouping Daddy! Were those Winchester Silver Tips or Hollow Points?

Son: Can I shoot the next one?

Wife: You ain't takin' that to the Taxidermist!

The Hunt is On!

2008-05-07T03:20:00.000-05:00

John and I have finally scheduled to look at houses this Friday with a realtor. We're going to check out a few houses in Little Elm, one in Frisco and a few on the Frisco edge of McKinney . I'm starting to get very anxious about not knowing where we're going to be in a month's time, so I'm really pressuring John to get things going. It's been hard to schedule time to go and look b/c he's been so busy with finishing up school, but he's done after tomorrow... WOOHOO! We both really wanted to stay in this area, but after dedicating an entire day exhausting all of my resources, I came up with one house in our price range and it won't even be ready to look at until the end of the month. I can't wait that long! So now John and I are having a hard time deciding where exactly we should end up. Unfortunately, we both have a hard time settling for an old, smaller house, which rules out The Colony, Plano and most affordable parts of Lewisville. That leaves only the areas that are growing, which are Frisco, Little Elm and McKinney. While we would both prefer Frisco over the other two, there is NOTHING in Frisco at the moment (which stinks.) So we'll probably end up in either Little Elm or McKinney. Finding a home and moving is such a tiring and stressful process, but I know that we're doing what is right for our family and I know that we will be so blessed in so many ways once we move into a home.

Song of the Week

2008-05-07T02:46:00.001-05:00

"Nine in the Afternoon" by Panic at the Disco

This band is a new discovery for me and I just have to say that I'm diggin' their unique sound. Aside from Brendon Urie's great voice (and rather interesting vibrato), I love the way pop, electronica, dance, rock, raggae and jazz are brought together to make for a very pleasing and positive sound. I can't help but tap my toes and dance in my chair as I listen to this song (as well as a few others that I've included on my playlist.) I don't like the tunes from their 2005 album quite as much; they tend to be a little on the raunchy or crude side with explitives thrown all around the place. But I like this new, peppy sound of theirs alot. They've definitely got something here!

Out of five stars, what would you rate this song? I'm interested to hear back from you. Enjoy!

She Walks

2008-04-30T16:14:00.000-05:00

Margaret is walking about 85% of the time now! Last Tuesday, she just started letting go and walking across the room. Although she still falls down a little, she gets better and better everyday. It's definitely her favorite new mode of transportation! :)

Hair Cuts

2008-04-30T14:36:00.001-05:00

I finally got my hair cut again, and this time I went ahead and got it straightened, too. I LOVE it! It's so cool to get out of the shower with wet hair and still have it be straight, not curly. It takes me about 15 minutes to dry and style it the way I want it to look, whereas last time it took me an hour-and-a-half b/c I also had to flat-iron my hair to get it to look right. I am loving my hair right now, and that doesn't happen very often.

Steven also got a major haircut; I finally buzzed him for the summer, which has been an annual thing. It's just much more noticable this year b/c I was really letting his hair get long... I loved running my fingers through it and I liked having something to syle. Now its just short and fuzzy or short and spikey, depending on whether or not we put gel in it. He likes it, so that's good. John also got a haircut, but I didn't do anything different for him, so no pics. Sorry hon! :)

Song of the Week

2008-04-28T16:55:00.001-05:00

"Stompin' at the Savoy" by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong
I chose "Stompin" this week because I've been thinking alot about my love for good, classic jazz music and you can't get much better than Ella Fitzgerald. I had dabbled in jazz for awhile, but not very serious about it, until I heard Ella sing! While I realize that she doesn't have the most powerful voice in the world, there's just something irresistable about it. The way she's always right-on with her pitch (back in the day before they dubbed stuff like that and then get to a live concert and find out that they really can't sing) is amazing. Her pronunciation is always so clean and proper; a very stark contrast to Louis' voice. Louis, well, he's not the best singer in the world, and I don't always like to hear him sing solo... but I love to hear he and Ella sing together. The sounds that he makes while singing sound much like the sounds that he makes with his trumpet... he's like a singing trumpet. It really is very cool to listen for... especially with his vibrato. Put the two together, Ella's clean diction and precise pitch with Louis' disregard for lyrics and brass coloring, and you get something absolutely magical.
Let me know what you think after you hear the song... I'm interested.

A Heart-Attack Waiting to Happen

2008-04-28T16:34:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday I made chili and cornbread for dinner. We ate sort of late and John had to rush off for a rehearsal, so it was just me and the kids. I told Steven that I would be right back to finish our dinner together, if he would just let me go put Margaret down for bed. While putting on her pajamas, I hear Steven from the dining room say "Mmmmm, I really like butter." Oh great, I think. When I come out to see what he is talking about, his face is buried in the tub of butter and he's (very noisily) slurping it up! When I say "Steven! What are you doing!?!", he looks up and has runny, melted butter all around his face and running down his chin! I really wanted to take a picture so that I could post it on here, but somehow I didn't think that would send the right message across. Fortunately, we had another thing of butter in the fridge, so I just threw it away. I couldn't believe that my son did that! I've heard stories of kids eating butter before, in fact my oldest niece used to when she was younger. But it was always with their fingers, not their faces! Leave it to my son to eat a year's worth of butter in one sitting.

Song of the Week

2008-04-21T23:26:00.000-05:00

"Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen

I have alot of different and fond memories of this song. I think we all remember the scene in Wayne's World when the guys try to sing this song but don't really know the words (hey, who hasn't done that in there own car, right!?!) I also remember this song from Stake Youth Conference a long time ago. We were all split up into small groups or "families" and each family had to perform a karaoke song up on the stage in the gym for everyone else. Well, my family picked this song (why, I have no idea!) I wanted to rehearse and figure out who would be singing what parts, etc, but no one else in my group was really on board with that. When the time came for us to sing and we were all standing up on the stage, everyone else suddenly developed stage fright and refused to sing. Being the very wild and crazy youth that I was, I couldn't just let one of the best songs of Rock 'n Roll go by without doing something. So.... I ended up singing the ENTIRE song all by myself (you can imagine what that might have sounded like.) I got so worked up and into it, that I even started throwing my props into the crowd. I'd like to think that it was highly entertaining for everyone who watched me make a total fool of myself, but I still look back on that moment, shaking my head and wondering "What was I thinking!?!?"

I am a huge Queen fan (in case you haven't already figured that out) so I've included my top favorites for you to browse in my playlist at the bottom. If you're not a Queen fan, you should be! :)

Love After All

2008-04-17T13:22:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking alot lately since I mentioned that Margaret doesn't really snuggle with me... and paying closer attention, too. I have to admit that John is right (as usual) about her smiles. Margaret has the biggest, most happiest, brightest smiles that I have ever seen on anyone's face... even bigger than Ewan McGreggor's. (And that's saying something!) Just this morning, I was in my room getting dressed when I heard Margaret crawling down the hall, so I decided to hide. When she came around the corner and spotted me, her whole face lit up... and it completely melted my heart. I know that my daughter loves me through very small and simple things that she does daily. When her brother slams her dollhouse into her head (happened this morning) and I rush over to see what happened, she immediately throws her arms up to me to save and comfort her. When Steven gets up in the middle of the night and we have to take him back to his bed, if Margaret happens to wake up she stands up and cries until you come and snuggle her (even if it's just for a second) just so that she can be tucked back in, too. And just yesterday she wanted to walk back and forth from me to the couch and from the couch to me. Everytime she would reach the couch, she would turn around and give me a huge smile, as if to say "I did it, mama!" Then when she would turn around and walk back to me (all the while with the same big grin on her face), she would throw herself into my arms and give me a quick hug before she was off again. I'm so happy that I have made these very simple and pleasant discoveries...