Mommies Lost

This may be a depressing post. But my hope is that we all think of the fragility of the lives we live; that we live each day as if it could be our last.

There are 2 congregations that meet in our church building. When we were in church last week the bishop announced the death of a mother and Primary president (in the other ward) who passed away in her sleep the previous Tuesday night. I sat wondering why this would happen to what was such a happy family. She had 4 (or 5) small children.

In our previous neighborhood lived another happy, brand new family. This mother was expecting her first baby, and was inspired just 2 days before she delivered to set up her video camera while her husband was at work and talk to her baby, tell her how much she was loved and anticipated. With a 15 day-old baby, the mom got a brain aneurysm. She had surgery, was almost recovered, got another one, and died.

Over the last week I have thought a lot about these two women. I have thought about the lives they left behind and how their families will be able to go on without them. I have thought often about how I am living my life, how the effect of each impatient and tense moment will impact my family. What if I wasn't around in the morning to say I'm sorry? Would I have regrets? Did I tell each child and Adam how much I really love them today?

Let us not take our days for granted. There is so much to be thankful for. Each day is truly a blessing.

The Last Warm Day

It was the last warm, no-need-for-a-jacket day of the year, so I bribed Adam to get the Christmas lights up. Well, I guess 'begged' would be a more accurate description.

He decided that the girls needed to get over their fears and face their curiosity by getting on the roof with him...

Which just made them worry about daddy up on this high peak:

They began praying that their daddy wouldn't die when he got this close to the edge:

Their prayers were answered. Thankfully.

Even though we tested every strand before hanging them, this is what both high peaks looked like when we finally turned them all on:

Wonderful. So, back up to the roof Adam went. Then it started to rain. He must really love me.

At least the kids were happy that day:

Our Plane Ride

Let me just say, I keep reminding myself that this was absolutely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity here. A friend from our church owns a plane and happens to be one of the nicest guys in the world. So, yes, it's true... We got to fly. Over "The Big House" in Ann Arbor, over many, many lakes and beautifully painted landscapes, over our very own house. And the landing was nice and soft. Could we ask for more? Oh yes, and I failed to mention that both Adam and I flew the plane as well. The answer to my previous question is, no. We could not!

Our Pilot and friend.

A little excited? I think so.

Kira couldn't quite figure out that the headset was supposed to rest on the top of her head.

You can see outside some lakes and beatiful fall colors.

Adam taking the wheel. Are those things called wheels? Uh, Adam steering.

They Have the Right Idea

Adalin: "Yea, Heavenly Father has real power. You know, like Annika's* wand, it's not fake, its real. It really works."

Kira: "Yea! Heavenly Father made us!"

Adalin: "Yea, He did. But not out of wood."

Kira: "He made us out of skin!"

*Annika is a Barbie character in the movie, Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus. Haha!

The First Day of School 2010

Well, here we are! Summer is over and Adalin and Kira are both in school. Wait! Seriously? I only have a baby at home in the mornings? Yes, it is unbelievably amazing, actually. Even though today was only the first day of many where this will be the case. As great as it will be for me to have some mornings only with Ava, it will be even better for these girls. Summer was fun, but summer was exhausting and in the end, downright made my girls irritable. They need more structure than what summer affords them.

Adalin started Kindergarten two weeks ago and is absolutely loving it. She is very grown up, is reading sight words, is making lots of new friends and is still working on the attitude she throws around at us on a regular basis. :)

Kira's first day of preschool was today! Oh my. I can't really express on paper (or on computer screen, rather) how good for her this is! She has been Adalin's shadow since she was walking. What Adalin wants for lunch, Kira wants. Adalin says she doesn't like something, Kira doesn't like it either... not always a bad thing, but this will give her a chance to have her own life. Be her own little person. Make her own friends, have her own opinions and develop her own talents.

Is it just me or do they both look so grown up?!

The Last Trip to the Beach

It was a school night, but it was 79 degrees and sunny that day and I couldn't pass up what could have been the very last absolutely gorgeous day of summer weather. So we hit up the beach. I tried really hard to take the kids to one of the many gorgeous beaches by our house as often as I could this past summer. It's a free excursion and they LOVE going. I would love it more if 1.) I didn't have an infant to keep out of the sun and fed and happy and 2.) if there weren't so many things to carry down to the water and 3.) if it wasn't so dang hard to pull them out of the water and get in the car without a significant amount of whining and complaining. So, yes, I went as often as, uh, I had the energy for it!

Adam was out of town, and for some reason I tend to go out and do more when he's not around. For some reason, actually, I know exactly why this is the case... When Adam is home (which is seldom) he likes to stay home. (I don't blame him.) And when Adam is home, we like to spend time with him (which is seldom). So that's that.

But, when daddy's gone, it's party time! We did the beach, park & apple orchard all in the 4 days he was gone. I guess keeping myself busy is remedy for single-mom-idness. {yes, I made that word up.}

Multi-tasking

The life of a resident requires some major multi-tasking. For example, while one's wife cleans up the dinner mess, one does not have the time to watch said's infant daughter without mowing the lawn simultaneously.

Diva Isis

I think Kira got kind of bored at home with no Adalin while she was waiting for her school to start up. So, instead of playing with Adalin, she played all morning with Isis, our dog. Isis was literally dressed up and dragged around for an entire day. It was cute though.

First time on a swing!

The Track

Adam has been running faithfully since April, training to run a 5K in under 20 minutes. Sometimes his workout schedule (created by his old friend and track coach extraordinaire, Jeremy Smith) demands a track though, like when he does 8x200's on the minute or something crazy. In his effort to get me to run on a strict schedule as well to train for a 5K in some yet-to-be-determined amount of time, (just so you know, that didn't last very long. I like to just go out and run. Forget all that timed distance mumbo jumbo...) the entire family went to the middle school track one lovely evening. It is a good thing, because Adalin and Kira hadn't a clue what a track even was.