Thursday Thirteen #23: Gratitude

Remember our last Thursday Thirteen? It's been a crazy year!

Last Thanksgiving we had just been contacted by our first fake birthmom, who was supposedly pregnant with triplets. I know, red flag, but she had contacted a case worker whom we talked with and he confirmed she had spoken with him about placing with us! So, we were hopeful.

From then to now we really have had a lot to be grateful for, so in no particular order:

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Happy Thanksgiving, and we hope you have as much to be grateful for this year as we do!

Thursday Thirteen #22: Stress Release

Are your holidays a little crazy this year?  Have you got too much to do and too little time?  Here are some of our favorite ways to relieve stress:

1. Take a deep breath.  It's going to be okay - really.
2. Listen to safety tips from Dwight K. Schrute

Thursday Thirteen #21: Advice to My 14-Year Old Self

I stumbled across this post and decided that I have a lot of pointers for my 14-year old self. To give you an idea of where I was at when I was 14, I just started my freshman year of high school and my family and personal life was pretty confusing...as is I imagine for most 14-year olds. I had just been kissed, and dismissed, by my first boy, my middle school friends were doing things I didn't want to do, and I was in a big new school and felt lost and forgotten. Without any further adieu...

1. Let people take pictures of you; you don't always have to be the photographer and you are going to miss out on saving these special memories you are making.

Thursday Thirteen #20: Movies We Love

These are movies we both love and enjoy, or have enjoyed, watching together. In no particular order:

#1: Hitch

Okay, I lied, this is probably the classic choice for both of us, which is why it was first.

Thursday Thirteen #19: How We Cope in the Off-Season

Just so you know, college football is kind of a big deal at our house. Especially BYU Football. Infact, you'll be interested to know that Nicholas purchased season tickets for me back in 2005 and proposed after the BYU-Utah game.

He's watching the USC-Hawaii game right now, on the first night of college football this season. The first of many, many nights.

So, in the 8 months between seasons, here are a couple things we have done, this year and in years past, to keep us preoccupied so we don't break down in tears every night.

1. Crush small children.

2. Entertain chubby babies.

Let me just say, I love the drool dripping from her chin!

3. Play Smurf Princess.

4. Get knocked out.

5. Capture a sunset.

6. Discover a new species of alligator that prefers snow.

7. Be patriotic.

8. Be intellectual.

9. Explore treacherous jungles.

10. Play with paper panchos.

I remember making this in second grade. My mom's awesome for saving it!

11. Discover exciting new wardrobes.

12. Find our future dream home.

13. Find our future dream automobile.

Saturday Seventeen #1: Confessions

I know I am a couple days late, so I thought I would make it up by doing something you're all going to love: 16 confessions about me (and maybe some from Nicholas).

1. I didn't shower yesterday, but I got 3 compliments on my hair, so I don't feel bad about it at all.

2. I YouTube pretty much every Glee song after I watch the episode because I love them but am too cheap to purchase them all. I only get the ones I REALLY love.

3. Because Glee does a lot of covers of songs, I try to buy the originals if the Glee version isn't better because, well, I just think that's the right thing  to do. (Like Single Ladies, Halo, Hate On Me, etc.)

4. I would happily go without honey if it meant I could rid the earth of bees. I really am freaked out by them and hate them so much and am disgruntled they are trying to build a hive outside of of our sliding glass door and even though we've tried to kill them twice, they just won't die!

5. I get honestly excited when a song comes up randomly in iTunes that I haven't heard in a long time. If I am looking to be really excited I put on my playlist entitled "Old School."

6. Recently, my book reading has become scarce, and I feel guilty that I've been watching so much of So You Think You Can Dance and America's Got Talent, my two favorite shows recently instead of reading.

7. Last night we watched Clash of the Titans but I REALLY didn't want to until the girl at Blockbuster said that she's not really into that kind of movie, but it wasn't bad--not life-changing, but not bad. I feel the same way.

8. I nearly laughed out-loud in an employee training yesterday when I was described as having "strategic vision." I know it was supposed to be a compliment, but I had no idea I had that.

9. I have practiced learning how to spell "supposed" without spell-checker, and I think I got it!

10. Nicholas and I slept in until almost 10am today. It was pretty perfect!

11. I'm surprisingly not as discouraged as one might think I should be that we have been trying to have children for 4 years. Seriously, I'm a little surprised myself, but I have so much hope and faith in the future, there's really nothing to be discouraged about. At least not today.

12. Nicholas is currently doing the dishes and I feel a little guilty for writing a post instead of helping.

13.This past Thursday (one of the reasons I didn't post then), was because a church activity was scheduled to be held in our home so I spent 1.5 hours sweeping and moping and tidying and wiping...and only one person showed up. That's okay though, we had a wonderful chat in a pretty clean home.

14. I kinda really want a fish. I'd prefer a dog, but we really don't have the space for a dog right now, so I kinda want a fish, but don't know if I can justify the expense of getting all the stuff when we don't even have a little kid to enjoy watching it. Plus, I know I'd talk to it when Nick wasn't around, and I'm not sure I'm okay with that.

15. As I am typing this post I keep on thinking of this song (from Glee of course, I don't really like this one, but it's true):

"These are my confessions!"

16. I don't wear nail polish on my fingers because I find them very distracting. Seriously.

17. Originally this post was only 16, but I wanted to show this picture I've recently snapped so I added another one. I love it!

Thursday Thirteen #17: Qualities I Admire in Others

We feel very positive tonight - filled with hope for the future and proud of those with whom we are able to associate. Therefore, we would like to expound upon those people and why we love them so much! These are not in order of importance, just in the order we think of them.

1. Promptness: If you're early, you're on time. If you're on time, you're late. If you're late, you're dead. People who take that to heart really impress us.

2. Friendliness:  When we graduated from college and moved to Colorado, we didn't know a single person in the entire state.  Our first Sunday in Colorado we went to church and as we sat down in one of the side pews, another couple with a little boy came up to us and introduced themselves as Mark, Lisa, and little Ethan.  By the end of the service they had invited us over to dinner that evening.  They are our good friends to this day.

3. Creativity:  It takes creativity to do well in a situation that you're new to.  For example, Nick's Mom once sewed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle shells for Nick and his brothers for Halloween.  I'm sure that wasn't taught in home economics, but creative people make solutions.

4. Gratitude: We think that those who know they have it really good, especially even when they really don't, are so pleasant to be around.

5. Humility:  It's so refreshing to be around some one that is truly humble, especially when they have reason to be full of themselves.

6. Fashionability: Rachel used to say these people “wear themselves well.” You don’t have to be size 2, 100 LBS., and 5’11” to be fashionable. This could also be categorized as expressiveness or self-confidence. However you say it, it all means the same thing--you look good in what you wear and how you present yourself.

6. Courage:  To a 6-year-old, courage is loud and involves physical danger.  The older we get the more we see that courage is about moving forward in the face of disappointment, discouragement, fear, or loss.

7. Optimism:  SPOILER ALERT!  We know how it all ends.  God wins, good triumphs, and love conquers all.  We love people that remember that often.

8. Perseverance:  During the last month of Nick's missionary service in Brazil, his Mom sent him a Nike t-shirt with the slogan "There is no finish line" written on the front.  It's true.

9. Charity:  When Rachel was in grade school, her violin was stolen, placed on train tracks near her school, and smashed to bits by a train.  The story made the news and soon the community had raised enough money to buy Rachel a new violin.  There wasn't a rich benefactor that donated most of the money - it came from little acts of kindness working together.

10. Forgiveness: 


11. Reliability: Isn't it nice when you can trust that someone is going to do what they said they will do when they say they will do it?

12.  Humor:  On our recent vacation to Twin Lakes we spent one evening with Nick's brothers, Greg and Chris, and their wives, Kandice and Jessica.  Chris has always been the funny one in Nick's family and he was in top form that evening.  By the end of the night we were laughing so hard we were crying and our jaws hurt. 

13.  Faith:  In the words of Yellowcard "Everything is gonna be alright, be strong, believe."

Thursday Thirteen #17: Pictures I LOVE from My Silly Girls Photo Shoot

These are photos from a shoot I participated in a couple weeks back to participate in Silly Girls United. We had such a blast and I intend and doing an informal shoot this weekend in Washington State. More to come on that...

I'm not numbering them. That's right, I'm a rebel. And I am going to refrain on commenting, because, well, I'm supposed to be writing a paper and not a blog post. The theme of the shoot was Stripes and Polka Dots (which I totally voted for). Enjoy!

This is the only one I'm commenting on, because I wanted to point out that freckles are built-in polka dots!

Thursday Thirteen #16: Music Lyrics I Love

Let me start off by saying there are too many to list and that there are no links because, well, I don't have time to include them. Look up the lyrics in Google if you don't know to what song they belong. Here they are in no particular order.

1. “Well alright, it’s okay. We all get the slip sometimes everyday I’ll just keep it to myself in the sun.”

2. “I’m never going to give you up. What do you got if you ain’t got love?”

3. “And in the morning your eyes open so innocent. The sun is blazing, we are sweaty, you look lovely.”

4. “Too late for second guessing. Too late to go back to sleep. It’s time to trust my instincts, close my eyes, and leap.” (I second guess pretty much every decision I make, so this really rings true for me!)

5. “That He should extend His great love unto such as I, Sufficient to own, to redeem, and to justify.” (Just discovered this particular line of this beautiful hymn on Sunday. Really, blows me away.)

6. “She feels free, but too many people are looking at me. So, if you find there’s a place for me. We’ll take the train that’s going south.”

7. “If fear is all that we should fear, then what are we so afraid of? ‘Cuz fear is only in our heads, so why do we let it control us? Fear makes me forget how sweet the simple things in life really are. Fear makes me believe that I’m alone.”

8. “If you knew how much this moment means to me, and how long I’ve waited for your touch. If you knew how happy you are making me. I never thought that I’d love anyone so much. It feels like home to me.” (I always think this is how it will feel when I meet our babies for the first time. Can't wait!)

9. “Let thy goodness like a fetter bind my wand’ring heart to thee. Prone to wander Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love! Here’s my heart, oh take and seal it...”

10. “When you walk, walk with pride, because the pain will soon be gone. And when you dream, dream big.”

11. “And when the kids are old enough we’re gonna teach them to fly. You and Me together can do anything, baby!” (I never want to forget how to fly, and that we want the kids there to share the experience with.)

12. “I wanna let it go but all I see is dirty snow, my land is cold. I’ll  be on the front lawn with the blow dryer full-on cause you gotta start somewhere.” (This would be on Nick's list)

13. “The sure provisions of my God attend me all my days. Oh may thy house be mine abode and all my work be praised.” (Nick says if he could sing, this would be the song he would sing first.)

Thursday Thirteen #15: Reasons Why Dad's Rock!

No this is not a late Father's Day post, this is a precisely on time 4 days after Father's Day post. Check your calendar!

The dad's in my family rock because...

1. they are the only ones who still send postcards.

My daddy sent these to me over about 6 months. While in Wyoming I returned the favor.

2. they know the importance of beauty sleep.

My daddy with his granddaughter, Kaitlyn.

Brother-in-law, David, with his sleepy daughter resting on his shoulder.

My daddy sprawled out in the middle of the floor. Classic.

Nicholas enjoying a relaxing summer nap this afternoon.

3. they have Happy Hands.

Nick's Uncle Wayne idolizing Napolean Dynamite.

4. they swim with seals.

Brother-in-law, Kacey, swimming on the Oregon Coast and got some friends to join him. Awesome.

5. they let you help with breakfast.

Nick's cousin, Rob, rolling croissants with his son Russell.

6. they are extremely masculine.

Nick's brother, Chris. 'Nuff said.

7. their daughters are pretty cute!

Brother-in-law, Brian, with daughter, Aysa. So adorable!

Brother-in-law, David, helping daughter, Kaitlyn, get in her pajamas.

8. they know how to wrap a gift.

David and Kacey have this little gift-wrapping war going on. Yeah, that's all wrapping for 2 very small gifts on the floor.

9. they threaten to throw sand at you.

10. they turn into excellent grandfathers!

Nick's dad hugging his grandson, Zachary, goodbye.

Us with Nick's father's father...the man who showed him how to do the whole grandpa thing right!

11. they make the candy come out of that darn pinata!

 David helping the kids out a bit.

12. they teach the importance of rocking.

Nick's brother, Greg, rocking out on Guitar hero with his son, Zachary.

13. they show no mercy in dog piles.

My 3 sisters and I had no chance and being sissy with our dad around. Hard core, all the way!

I seriously don't know how our family got such a high concentration of quality dad's in the entire world, but it happened. Yeah, they're kind of a big deal!

Happy Thursday after Father's Day Dad's!! 

You are remarkable (hence my remarking about you) and we love you all!

Although, I have to give props to two of my favorite Dads:

the man who raised me to work hard and play hard

and the man who works hard while I play hard

They are the best dad's, and they both mean the world to me!