I hear that having babies and toddlers is one of the most challenging parts of life, and, in many ways, I believe it.  Having children that are more akin to appendages than independent beings has posed many difficulties.  I have new appreciation for the opportunities I get to type without extra keys being inserted, walk without dragging or being dragged, shower without being constantly interrupted, sleep without being woken, and, generally, having the chance to breathe.

That being said, I’ve noticed that, in comparison to other friends and relatives at different stages of life, there are some perks to being a toddler mom.  For instance, although I get up when the boys get up, we are rarely in a hurry to leave the house.  We don’t have piano lessons, soccer games, gymnastics, or even school to get to, so the crazy breakfast, showering, and dressing can take until lunch if it needs to (and sometimes it does.)  I don’t notice enough how lucky I am for these mornings.  With the exception of my six hours at work, I am still at home to tell the boys what’s up in life (well, me and Alyssa and Buzz Lightyear).  I still get the feeling that whatever mistakes I’m making today, I’ll have a whole day with them tomorrow to fix it.

And I still get to tell them Three Bears, which is what I am going to do right now…

Thank you, toddler mom days.

I thought I’d ask Jay for number eleven, because (wonder of wonders) he isn’t keeping a list of his own.  Because I am thankful for him, I will honor him by getting him off the guilt hook.  Here’s what he’s thankful for (he rambled a bit, so I paraphrased and made it sound a little nicer as a favor to him):

I am thankful for hard work, for the fact that the American dream still exists in this country.  No matter what our circumstances, time and effort can yield tremendous results and can have far reaching consequences.  Because I have put in long hours, I’ve been able to create some pretty neat things.

Then the scripture man (who knew?) quoted Matthew 19:29:

And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

There is no trial in life that can’t be overcome or endured, and that won’t yield great rewards.

Then he threw in a few addendums.

Also, I’m thankful for Battlestar Galactica, Jones Soda, Naked Juice, computers in general, and trance music.

What’s missing here?

I was substitute teaching the Sunbeams class this Sunday, and I pulled an old game I made for sharing time a few years ago.  I photoshopped out different objects from Book of Mormon pictures, and you have to figure out what’s missing.  It’s kind of fun.  You can download this 7MB pdf if you need something for your Family Home Evening.

Book of Mormon Missing Game

Today was our ward’s primary program: My favorite Sunday of the entire year.  Spencer was asked to go participate with the rest of the nursery to help sing the opening song “I Am a Child of God.”  We had practiced all week, and I prepped him on it most of Saturday and again Sunday morning.  Still, we he went up with Steph he didn’t sing.  And when he came back to an entire bench full of smiling, attention-giving faces, he just broke down and cried (don’t fret; a juice box and a tootsie roll made it all better).

Still, though, I am so impressed with watching 50 children stand up and sing (or not sing) that song together.  It is the epitome of the gospel’s simplicity.  I read blogs that talk about all these teeny tiny points of doctrine, which are interesting, but I think they miss the heart of it all.  We are children of God, and I think any child–any person, really–can look deep inside themselves and know it.

I am grateful for that.

P.S. #10 means half way to turkey dinner!

It’s amazing to think of all the processes that are continually occuring in our bodies, especially the ones that help keep us healthy.  Today, I’m specifically thinking of pain that can sometimes kick our trash but is part of how the system works.  We get the sensation of fatigue to remind us to take a break.  We feel burns so we pull our hand off the hot stove.  We get body aches during flu and infection because our white blood cells are working overtime.  It’s an annoying–and marvelous–arrangement.

I’m also grateful for the human interventions that often make up the difference when our bodies can’t fix us on our own.  Antibiotics can cure dangerous infections (which I’m especially thankful for today), technology can detect problems we’d never be able to see with our eyes, and surgeries can reorganize and rebuild our bodies in dramatic and lifesaving ways.

To my hands and feet and head and heart (and everything in between), thank you.  And, modern medicine, thanks.

One of my long overdue projects was to finally hang some pictures and art that have been waiting for a home–some for over a year.  Here are some of the new additions:

Our lovebirds from Summerfest finally got a place in the hall.

Pretty, yes?

I got these box shelves from Emily and Doug for my birthday--last year!

For now, I put my Ittala vase on one of the shelves. But I'm still nervous a precocious kid could climb up on the chair and get it.

Jay got me this O'Toole print for our anniversary and the frame for my birthday. We still need to center it once we know where all the furniture is going to be for Christmas.

My Hopper portfolio was doing no good sitting in the closet, so I hung some of the prints up.

I am so happy for these.

One of my Finnish tiles fits perfectly between our closets.

And the other Finnish tile is downstairs. It is a cottage with a potato garden, which is the American version of a house with a white picket fence.

Ironically, it watches over my dirty laundry.

And the finale is Kristen's Porvoo picture I wrangled away from her. (It seems I have a Finnish theme going on here.)

I even bought new bathroom rugs to match it. (I hadn't taken the tags off them yet.)

In a few days, I’ll post about the one other wall hanging that has become the bane of my existence.  Stay tuned.

Each day, I rise when the kids rise, and that often means I have to hit the ground running as soon as my feet leave the bed.  There are some mornings like this one, however, that we get to take just a little bit slower.  Jay was up in the middle of the night fixing a server on campus, so he slept in late.  After the boys and I had a breakfast of Cocoa Puffs and juice, we all said good morning to dad by piling back in bed and just playing, snuggling, and relaxing.  It’s nice to have such a large percentage of everything I value contained within just a few square feet.

To all the fates of the universe that allow these mornings to happen, thank you.

I can’t remember anyone in my entire life instilling limited expectations on me.  No one ever told me I’d never be able to be a doctor, astronaut, president, or great cook; No one said I’d never skydive, write a novel, travel the world, or run an ironman.  And, although I have not been or done a single one of these, I strongly feel that just the idea that I could if I really really wanted to has helped me live a happy, optimistic, confident life.

And, because I really believe that I could do those things, it makes the choices I have made instead seem that much more important.

To everyone who never told me I couldn’t: Thank you.

I can buy store brand of just about anything, but my heart truly pitter patters over spending a few extra dimes on softer kleenex, stronger plates, more absorbent (I know, it’s debatable) paper towels, and thicker TP.  It’s wrong that I can get so giddy over such silly splurges.

Thank you, brand name products.

Because that’s what it took to get me out of my predicament today.  I had to run to the office across the hall to send a fax as I was leaving work today, and I left my keys in the copy room and locked the door behind me.  Can’t get back in; can’t drive home. So here I am.  Right now.  Waiting for the university police to come and unlock the door.

That’s me.  Right now.  With the stupid door.  With the keys behind them.

If I lived 20 minutes away and didn’t have Jay’s help, this could be a real disaster.  Luckily, if all goes as planned Jay can catch the wonderfully convenient free bus home and be there right on time to take the kids.  And a nice officer will come and help me out.

So, in advance, thank you.

UPDATE: Boo to the police officer who never came (I guess a car accident is more important than my dire situation), and yay to coworker Lorraine, who dropped by to get her mail and let me borrow her key.