9

 It's really hard to blog with no camera. Thanks, Alli, for taking these pictures for us. We had Nikki's 9th birthday party last week. The cake was really easy to make, but it just took forever to make so many different colors of fondant. We have the best birthday parties ever -- the cousins come and play and eat dinner. Hannah and Nikki made a bunch of rainbow decorations and I didn't have to do anything but the cake. Well, I did have to actually find a rainbow pinata this time, but I can handle that kind of preparation.

We love you, Nikki!

He did it!!

He told me I was going to like my Mother's Day present, but I wasn't sure about that. Because I was very sure he didn't get me a Bosch. My Kitchen-aid broke a while back and then my blender broke, too. A month or so ago he had gotten some overtime and promised me we would get one, but then as we were going over the budget we decided there were some other things to take care of that were more important than getting the most amazing kitchen mixer ever. I was sad, but that's just the way things go sometimes.

So this morning, after breakfast in bed (cinnamon rolls and crepes filled with nutella and ice cream) he sent me on a treasure hunt. And surprise, surprise, I got a Bosch -- with Snickers filling the food processor attachment! He knows me well. :)

Payback

Kellee will like this. I remember one time asking Dad for a piece of gum, and he said, "Well, okay. This is my last piece, but I'll give it to you." Kellee was standing right there and she couldn't believe it because she had just asked him for a piece of gum and he wouldn't give it to her!

The other day Ryan had a water bottle at the ball field and I asked if I could have a sip. No way. Nate asked him for a drink, and Ryan handed the bottle right over saying, "Of course."

What goes around really does come around, doesn't it?!

Sixteen

Today is April 30th. It was sixteen years ago today that Mom, Dad, and Granddaddy White died. I actually remember that morning looking very similar to this morning -- it was overcast and then began a light rain in the early afternoon. I was sixteen years old. Can it really be possible that they have been gone now for as long as I knew them?

April 30th is usually a beautiful day for me. On April 30, one year after the accident, our family was sealed in the temple. That turned my focus from a terrible loss to the hope of a bright future. I still feel that hope. Today it would just be nice to talk to my mom. There is a lot I would like to say to her. I would really just like to listen to her, have her hug me. I was thinking of her on Sunday in Sacrament meeting as I sitting next to Hannah singing the alto part to one of the hymns. I wondered if one day Hannah will think of me the way I think of Mom each time I sing a hymn in church.

I really enjoyed Elder Scott's talk in General Conference last month. I thought this part was great where he quoted President Joseph F. Smith: “I believe we move and have our being in the presence of heavenly messengers and of heavenly beings. We are not separate from them. … We are closely related to our kindred, to our ancestors … who have preceded us into the spirit world. We can not forget them; we do not cease to love them; we always hold them in our hearts, in memory, and thus we are associated and united to them by ties that we can not break. … If this is the case with us in our finite condition, surrounded by our mortal weaknesses, … how much more certain it is … to believe that those who have been faithful, who have gone beyond … can see us better than we can see them; that they know us better than we know them. … We live in their presence, they see us, they are solicitous for our welfare, they love us now more than ever. For now they see the dangers that beset us; … their love for us and their desire for our well being must be greater than that which we feel for ourselves.”

Softball

Hannah had her first two softball games last night and tonight. When I turned on my camera at the ball field last night, I found out I didn't have the memory card in it. Then, today I put it back in, got to the ballpark, and the camera wouldn't recognize the memory card. Ugh. So no pictures. I'm so amazed at how she can look so calm when I know she has got to be so nervous. I'm pretty sure she was shaking when it was her first turn up to bat, but I don't think anybody else would have known. After the game last night, she said that she understood how the game is played a lot better now! I was a little dumbfounded by that, and I felt kind of like we had just thrown her to the wolves. I just didn't know she didn't know how to play! Anyway, I'm proud of her for trying something new.

Easter

 We had a great Easter weekend. We were so busy the Easter bunny had a hard time catching us. Finally, after church Nate took the kids on a walk and I took a nap, and the bunny took the opportunity to leave a few treats. Nate says he always got a chocolate bunny when he was growing up, so our kids finally got one this year, too. I can't stand Easter grass (it ends up all over the house!), which is why we just had tissue paper in the baskets.

 Our bunny always sends us on a treasure hunt, and our friend Lauren was staying with us for the weekend while her parents were out of town, so she got to join us for it, too.

 The girls are growing up and their clues are getting a little trickier. This one had them both stumped for a while!

Of course, Easter is about so much more than treasure hunts and candy, and I really enjoyed the messages shared at church yesterday. We also got to attend Eliza's baptism on Saturday, which is a wonderful reminder of what our Savior has done for us.

I would try to catch up with my blogging a bit more, but Ryan has been begging for me to play cars with him.

Sneak Preview

I still want to make curtains and replace the blinds, so until I actually finish the girls' room I'll just post this picture of it. It's the best part anyway. Oh, I also want to spray paint the ceiling fan. Anyway, I saw this really pretty stencil online of a bunch of vines with a couple of butterflies. I loved it, but it cost a hundred bucks for the stencil. Umm, no thanks. So, I traced it out on a piece of paper to have something for me to look at. Then, I got a piece of chalk and drew this out on the wall and then painted it. Obviously, not the same quality as if I'd spent the $100, but I'm pretty excited that I did it myself! I also made a butterfly chandelier, and the girls did some artwork, but I haven't taken pictures of it all yet. So, yes, I did get the girls' beds put back in a good amount of time, but once again, I do still have loose ends left unfinished.

Free!

I've talked about Dressing Your Truth before, and Carol Tuttle is now making her course to discover your type of beauty available for free. I think that is wonderful because I don't think her book does a good enough job to really be able to decide which type you are. The videos help a lot. So, if you don't know what type you are, or if you don't know what I'm talking about, go check it out! It's a lot of fun.

Hannah's 11

Happy birthday to my sweet girl, even if it was three weeks ago!

 

The Itch

I would have posted more lately, but I keep thinking I'm going to find the USB thing that transfers my pictures from my camera to my computer. I'm still going to find it -- hopefully soon. Then I can post pictures of Hannah's birthday, Nikki's gymnastics meet, and whatever else I have on my camera.

Since we put in new cabinets in the kitchen last fall, I have taken a break from house projects. But the home-improvement itch has returned. I REALLY want new wood floors, but since that isn't happening right now I decided to get started on something I can do. I got some paint today and rolled the first coat in the girls' room. They are excited about it. I'm a little nervous that it's going to be too bright, but I guess they would love it that way anyway. Oh, the wonders a coat of paint can do!

I'm not good at finishing long-term projects, so I'm really going to push myself to just finish decorating their room as quickly as I can before I lose my interest in it. My kitchen is a great example of that -- we put the cabinets in months ago and just last week I finally got the drawer knobs put on, and I should have tiled my backsplash next but I'm tired of working on the kitchen. Hopefully, I'll last long enough in the girls' room to at least get their beds put back in place!