TIRED OF IT.

So brace yourself, because I am going to get REALLY personal here. Fact: I have about 20 icky pounds to lose from my indulgent 9 months of pregnancy. So I feel OK most days, but Sunday is another story. Actually since I was a teenager, AS I AM GETTING READY FOR CHURCH, I have been tortured with negative thoughts about my body and my looks to the point where i dont feel like going to church anymore. That sneaky devil is such a JERK! Today was just another Sunday of feeling gross. Dont get me wrong, I definately DO NOT dress to impress when i go to church. But I want to feel okay. So I have decided after 15 years of the devil's crap I have made a decision...and you may think I am crazy. Go ahead. But i think I might narrow it down between 2 outfits for Sunday and just alternate every other week. I could honestly give a flying crap if anyone thinks i am weird but i just want to win this battle and not have it be an issue anymore. I would rather spend my time reading something uplifting than playing musical outfits. So I will see if it helps. Just the thought of eliminating the process of deciding what to wear is sooo great! I am such a freaking genius.

ONE COOL WHITE BOY

Matt might just kill me for posting this but you have to give the kid props for wearing a Keith Sweat t-shirt ! This picture was taken while visiting San Francisco and i guess there were several people from the Oakland area who gave him props too. Thanks to my older sister Catherine, who blasted such music from her bedroom, I became very familiar with these artisits. Other music that blared through her bedroom wall was Al B Sure, Bobby Brown, Johnny Gill, New Edition, Run DMC and Bel Biv Devoe. I am laughing just typing this!

SOMEBODY HELP ME PLEASE!

Okay, this is the 2nd night I have put Reese down for the night at 9pm and she has gotten up at 12:30, 4 and 6. She is WIDE AWAKE at 6am and I am about to lose my mind. Last night is the first time I have gotten frustrated with her. The fun part is that our bedroom is downstairs and she is upstairs. And yes, i have been naughty and nursed her. But i just feel like I cant do this anymore. Should I let her cry it out? Any suggestions?

What do they think this is...Nim's Island?

We let the girls play with Jax our lizard while we worked on a project in our basement ( *which we are finishing by the way, which means lots of extra space so all y'all can come crash at our house...) And as I walked into the room Leah was dangling him by the tail. You know, just moving him from one room of the doll house to another. Poor, poor Jax.

Then I found them in their room drawing pictures of coconut trees and hanging them from their bunkbed with dental floss and tape. My kids could think of a million things to do with dental floss..except for floss their teeth.

White pillow or flower pillow?

I am SLOWLY making improving to my house. i FINALLY am extremely pleased with my bed. The pictures dont do it justice. And you should try sleeping in it! It is SOOOO comfy. I know there are far more serious things to vote for these days..but people please..flower or no flower pillow?

i also realized WHY I have not put many things on my walls. First of all, I must luuurrvve it and it has to be hung perfectly. So i tried hanging a shelf today. Yes, a SHELF ..and i almost punched a hole in the wall while mumbling a few expletives. It was not a pretty sight. But I love my start on the family pics!

Dundee the super dog!

I am so in love with her...

WACKY

A Program Blunder

I just read a story about a friend of a friend of a friend who made a little mistake on the program for sarament meeting. He was looking for a picture of Christ for a filler on the program and Googled "picture of Jesus Christ". Without looking closely he went ahead and printed them. 100 of them. And handed them out. Jesus is holding a Winchester rifle. He was slightly embarassed.

Dimple, hair, tongue and squishy thighs...

Yep, just like Reese. This is my mom and Reese has stolen some of her good looks.

Dear Halloween, my love for you grows stronger each year...

and because of you I can decorate my porch with wickety-wak things like giant bats (dont worry, its totally not real), vibrating motion-sensing screaming witch, ginormous spider webs, over sized pumpkins and hang human limbs from my car. Because of you I can pretend to be something or someone else for one WHOLE day and it is totally ligit. Oh, and i get to throw candy and scream at little kids when they come to my door....or tell them to BE SURE to shake the soda can before they open it. Thanks Halloween for making my life to freaking exciting!

NYNYS MISSION REUNION

Thank you Spackmans for coming from Canada to see all of your NYNYS kids! It was such a wonderful time..here are a few pictures from the evening.

GROSSED OUT

Okay people...just because I was once a Greenpeace member does NOT mean that I like animals roaming my house. Yes, i do have an almost 6ft boa in our basement. Yes, we do have a lizard and tree frogs. (actually the 7th treefrog just died and the 8th isnt looking so hot). Yes, Leah loves to feed the Lizard mealworms and will sometimes forget she put a few in her pocket. Yes, i did assist in the murder of a rat when i put it in a cooler of dry ice so it could "go to sleep" and make it easier to feed the snake. And YES I just found a giant cricket in my house. Going up the stairs. Maybe to the girls room. i find this revolting. All I can say is this is no wonderland and I aint Alice. Little did I know that when I married Matt, I was marrying into the reptile kingdom.

In Awe of Autumn

I love a man who comes home from work smelling like dog and dirty criminals...

Thats right, Matt is the new K9 officer for S. Salt Lake. And this is our new child, Dundee.

Cutest Faces Ever

The cousins got together for Joseph's 4th birthday..we love you Joseph!

Let us take a walk down memory lane ...shall we?

FOR COUNTRY DAY PEEPS..lets see who we can recognize. Kelsey Kearns as fairy..check. Chrissy Tucker as yellow dog..check. Anna as nurse..check. Rachel as an e-wok..check. Lori as a clown..check. Rhett with yellow afro in way back..check. And who is the kid next to Chris N. who I always thought was a little werewolf-ish? WHAT is Maria Cincata doing? And WHOOOO is miss piggy and wannabe Princess Lea?

Give it up to Tommy Felactu for dressing drag to our 8th grade Halloween party. I never thought a PRIVATE school or Agatha (his mom) would let this happen. We love you Tom. This is one of my fondest memories of you.

No, I was NOT in beauty pageants. This is called being the youngest of 6 kids. I think that was when Farrah Faucet was popular.

LOVE LOVE LOVE HER.

I cannot put into words how much I love this little girl. I feel like my heart is going to explode! All she does is smile at me! I love it! She sleeps about 8 hours a night now and takes awesome naps! She eats like a champ and loves her sisters. I cannot imagine life without her.

I love my girls!

REMEMBERING 9/11

Everyone has their stories where they were on September 11th. As for me, i was in New York serving as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I had lived in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Long Island. Being from the West Coast, this whole experience was quite an interesting one. With the hot and humid summers to the bone-chilling winters and the long days of knocking on doors to share the Good Word only to find that MAYBE one person that day might consider pondering the heart-felt sincere testimony that took you such courage to share. We were invited to pray with others and we were also kicked out of buildings. Some areas were scary and I have NO DOUBT angels were around as we walked in the late night or mid-day for that matter. Little did I know tha the people i should have been wary of were the terrorists that I possibly rubbed shoulders with. Those who helped bring the towers down and who wreaked havoc on our precious country.

After being kicked out of a building, my companion had the idea to knock on the door to a firehouse. They were reluctant to let us in. "Only if you need a drink or need to use the restroom" they told us. Soon enough we were teaching them about Jesus Christ and the plan of salvation. It must have gone well because they then offered us desserts and let us slide down the fire pole! The evening ended with an exhilerating ride home in the firetruck (which was only a few blocks). I have heard that many firefighters from the Park Slope dept were lost on Sept 11th. I am currently trying to find out if these men were lost in the towers that day. Whether or not they are alive, it was an honor to teach those men who i AM SURE were willing to give their life that day to save another.

Matt and I were actually serving in Staten Isalnd during Sept 11th. Manhatten was basically in our front yard. We would ride the ferries daily back and forth to the city to find people to teach. That DAY was strange. We did not have a TV in our apartment so we were not glued to the TV like the rest of America. We turned on our radio just in time to hear that the first tower had fallen. We headed over to the elders apartment to be together and to feel safe. We were then told to go among the people and try and give comfort to those who needed it. That night Matt and another missionary decided to go over to Ground Zero to do whatever they could. I remember getting a call from Matt that night and he was in tears. Sobbing over the surreal scene he had just witnessed. He said it looked like a movie set. Dust inches high. A somber place. And no one to be rescued. They had all died in the towers. He cried all of the way home. Matt has kept his protective suit and mask he wore at Ground Zero. Something tangible to remind him of that experience..not just of what he SAW but what he FELT. I am so afraid of my memories fading of that time. That is probably why I am sharing it on my blog. My favorite picture I took is the one of the flag on the fence with the city behind it and pictures of those missing. i hope we can take that day to remember and pray for MANY people whose heart are STILL aching from that day.

First day of School