Pictures!

Just having a fun picture day...

Smile for mommy!

Helping daddy do the dishes. She did this of her own accord.
Pulled the stool over there and got up on it. lol

Nana's front porch...

So cute!
18 months old this day...

Walkin' down by the river...
She LOVES onion rings!
Funny mood LOL
She loves ice (& her cousin!)
Throwing ice off the porch & laughing like a maniac.

That's a lot of pictures. Sometimes a mommy just can't make choices!

Long day

Today was long. Leah woke up at 6. I had to speak in church today - I spoke about doing service in the community & being active in politics - and I was up until midnight preparing. She napped from 10 to 11:30. And then just fell asleep again about 30 minutes ago. I don't know what it means that she was asleep before 6:30 pm... ugh. But I had to let her. She was sitting on my lap & I literally had to catch her from falling over because she basically just passed out all the sudden. Poor kid. Sundays are rough because church is at 12:30 and normally she would be asleep at that time. We got home about a quarter to four. I made hamburgers (mixed hamburger & italian sausage actually - very good!), made a cheese sauce, did french fries in my deep fryer - curly fries, etc. I made lots extra because my SIL said she would probably come over for dinner and then she didn't come. oh well!

But now Leah's sleeping, Drew is doing that dishes and I came to share some pictures of my gorgeous girl!

but alas... she has woken up again. I'll have to come back and do it later!

Ugh!!

Religious Stuff

So I'm a religious person. It's not something I talk about a lot online... I think mostly because it's something that is sacred & precious to me. I don't normally throw my beliefs out into the world to listen to them debated. Especially since LDS (mormon) - which I am - have I mentioned that on here? - anyway... especially since LDS beliefs are so often bashed on anyway.

It's been a few years since there was a major moment where I had to deal with that. I think that last time was in college when there was a guy with a HUGE (like 8/9 feet tall) sign walking around campus and written all over it was all the people he through were going to hell - every sin you can think of written all over it. And then across the bottom in letters 3x as big as every thing "AND ALL MORMONS!"

It's an odd thing to be walking to class & be reminded there are people who hate you for your very existence. It's not like I don't KNOW that but nonetheless - it sort of smacks you in the face all the sudden.

I know my religious history but it just seems like in this day & age it shouldn't such an issue. Naive of me though - it was legal to KILL Mormons in Missouri until 1975. I was BORN in 1975. There were massacres, many many people were tarred & feathered, etc. It's just crazy.

Anyway!

I've been reading my scriptures every night before bed. It's a goal I always have but I'm not successful much LOL. Routines are not my strong point! But I've been really good lately. Especially since I got my PDA. I have them all on there and I can read wherever I am! I love it.

PS When I say "scriptures" - in the LDS world - the means Bible (Old & New Testament - King James version), Book of Mormon (similar to the Bible but about what happened in the Americas), Doctrine & Covenants - mostly church history & current revelation, & the Pearl of Great Price - which includes the books of Moses & Abraham.

So I'm reading in the book of mormon & the first book is called "Nephi" pronounced knee-fi...

and I've been writing so much background here I have forgotten what I was going to write about Nephi. I'm not even kidding.

I'm losing my mind!

Well, okay. I'll switch tracks. Maybe it will come to me later... Sigh.

Grace - a few months back I said I was going to write a post about grace because I'd seen it mentioned on another forum & I was ANNOYED.

This is a topic I've spent a lot of time studying and so many people just scrape the surface. I don't BY ANY MEANS completely understand the depths of this topic though. lol

Here's the thing - among the Christian religions - there seem to be two camps. Those that say "You are saved!" and then that's it. You are required to do nothing at all. You're just saved.

And then the other camp that says you are only saved IF you done all you can do. You've done all the work and then when you couldn't work anymore - Christ finishes the rest.

I don't think either thing is totally true (not that there are really just two camps - what I've discovered in my research is that there is a third).

Yes - Christ giving his life for us is a gift. It is a freely given gift that requires no works on our parts. I firmly believe that.

HOWEVER, I think in TRUE acceptance of that gift you do the works. You do what Heavenly Father & Jesus Christ would have you do. The works come AFTER you accept the gift NOT before.

I've often heard several analogies that I think have it all wrong. For instance, you are running a race or marathon & you run has hard and as fast as you can. You wear yourself out until you have nothing left. Then at this point Christ picks up the slack and finishes the race.

Or you have a bank account and when you've used up everything you have then Christ makes up the rest

etc etc etc.

When I first started researching this topic I thought to myself "Why do we pray then?" I mean - really. If I'm all alone until I've totally used myself up... then why am I praying everyday? If I don't get any help until I've collapsed?

I think that's the inherit flaw in these analogies.

Christ & his saving grace & the atonement are NOT just there when we have failed. He is there at EVERY moment, every turn, every bend in the road, every struggle, every trail. When he died for us and he took upon the sins of the world - he didn't just take up on our sins! He took on every emotion, every sadness, every trial, every single moment. So when the scriptures teach that Christ knows YOU specifically. It's because He does. He KNOWS you. Every single sorrow.

And His grace IS for everyone. He stands offering that gift - requiring nothing in response - but as we accept that gift and apply to our lives, we will do the good works and help further His causes in this world because when you are living a Christ-centered life you notice that people who need your help more, you notice the little things that need done. That neighbor needs her porch shoveled, those people need dinner one night to ease their burdens for a day, etc.

**PS I'm sorry if this is disjointed. I've been writing on & off for more than an hour because I'm taking care of Leah too. lol But now she's finally asleep! woohoo!

There's lots of scriptural references for all of this. I'm entirely too lazy to put them on in there for right now. And since it's been about 2 hours since I started this. I'm tired of writing!

I just want to say: I know my Savior loves me. I know He knows me. I know He cries when I cry, aches for my sorrows, rejoices with me, and celebrates my triumphs. And I know that when I pray and ask for help, He helps. That is the point in praying everyday.

And I'm very sorry about all the typos in this but I'm tired now. Feel free to ask me questions about anything you read. I'm happy to answer. hehe. Sorry if it doesn't make sense!

Everything!

I'm just starting to type this post and my dear daughter is waking up! She's only been asleep 45 minutes. This will NOT do. I'll be back....

Okay.

I haven't posted in forever. Let's see. First

Leah - She is talking like crazy. I swear she says about 5 new words a day. Yesterday said said cheese & please & other stuff I can't remember. lol. Sunday she said grandpa & house before we were even out of bed. It's sooo fun to hear her little voice. I just love it.

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Leah & I went to Utah for a week. We visited a forum friend and her son (who is only 5.5 weeks younger than Leah). The kids played together soooo well! It was great fun. He taught Leah how to go downstairs. I've showed her so many times but apparently she needed to see another kid do it. We went to a place called "The treehouse museum" It made me want to live near a city. It was a kids imaginary play place. There were sooo many activities in there and it was a blast.

http://www.treehousemuseum.org - check it out!

And then the next day we went to the Hogle Zoo. That was a great time. It was amazing to watch Leah's intelligent eyes scanning a tree for an animal and then pointing and jabbering when she'd spot it. I love seeing the world through her.

Then we went south of SLC and visited one of my friends from high school. She has a 3.5 year old & a 5.5 month old. It was a wonderful visit. We have known each other so long & have crazily similar parenting styles (attachment parenting) and it's so nice to just BE with her. I love that about our friendship.

I also met her friend Melissa who I've wanted to meet forever. She has a site at www.rawmelissa.com - she's a raw foods chef. If you live in Utah you should check out her classes & her services!

And this morning I got an email from Melissa and she knows one of my roommates from college!! How crazy is that? Sometimes the world seems like a very little place.

___

I'm doing a Thai cooking class tonight. I've been prepping all morning. We are having spring rolls, corn pancakes, red curry chicken, & coconut ice cream. The spring roll mixture is made, the coconut ice cream is setting in the freezer (when it's partially frozen I have to put it back in the food processor to get a good texture). I have chopped most everything for the corn pancakes - including husking the corn and removing it from the cob! I need to chop veggies & chicken for the curry dish. It's not 'til 7 tonight but I think I'm gonna have to head over there about 6. It's going to take me awhile to get it all in the car by myself with Leah. (Drew is at work.)
___

I think that's pretty much it. OH! A woman whose parents live her (and she grew up here) just had quadruplets! They are going to be staying here with her parents for a little while so we are taking them some meals. I signed up for the main dish for Wednesday. I bought them a ham. I have to cook that tomorrow. I couldn't decided what else to do for 6 adults and 4 kids. Full house! They are the nicest people. The babies got released after only TEN days!! She did amazing amazing amazing!
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Crazy story!

Last Friday we got home from the grocery store and there is this cat laying on the front porch (not anything special - happens a lot around here). But this cat looked kind of lifeless. So I go pet the kitty who just lays there and I start checking it out. The cat has a kitty cold & some kind of skin infection & is SOO skinny. It's eyes were swollen & mucous filled. Poor kitty!

FYI - if a cat can't smell, it won't eat. This is why cat colds are dangerous for cats. They get all stuffed up and won't even drink water because they can't smell it. So a cat can die from dehydration while they just have a cold.

So this cat also had lost a lot of hair on it's body (not head & tail) because of the skin issue. I could tell it was someone's pet but it was in BAD shape. Some kind of Persian cat too. (smooshed in face)

So I tell Drew "this cat is NOT going to die on my front porch". I can't deal with that. I am a CAT LOVER! So I go to put Leah down for a nap & Drew took the cat to the vet's.

He went in without the cat & told them the situation. They say "Go to the shelter". He goes to the shelter and it's closed so he calls me. I tell him "go back to the vet & make them help you!" So he goes back to the vet (still without the cat - it's in the car) and talks to the secretary again. She tries calling the police to see if they know where the animal cop is. In the meantime, he finally goes and gets the cat and brings it inside so they can see it. And then, of course, the woman is all "ahhhhhhhh" - because this cat is obviously so sick. She says they'll take it and Drew tells her we are willing to pay for the cats care just please call us if they think it needs put to sleep because we'll take it home. (I had another cat a vet wanted to do that with that had a cat cold and I nursed that cat back to health!) So they have our info & he leaves....

Before he's even home all the way she calls him again...

because....

IT'S THE VET'S CAT!!!!

It ran away 10 days ago & they thought it was gone for good! They were so excited. And I was so excited knowing that cat was for sure going to get the best care. :-)

What are the chances? not just that we had the vet's cat but that the cat crawled onto the porch of someone who would care enough to do something about it??

Happy crazy ending!

I hear Leah stirring again. I hate teething. She can't seem to sleep solid. Ugh.

Bye! :-)