A Subtle Hint

Mouse just started "vacuuming" me (using her little push toy that she pretends is a vacuum).

Maybe I should go take a shower...

Merry Christmas from Us!!

Hope your Christmas and New Years are full of fun, laughter, joy, family, good friends, and most especially the hope that comes only in and through our Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank you all for your friendship, love, and support!

Love,

Me, Mine, Mouse, and Meimei :)

I am Thankful...

...For so many things!

Hope you all have a beautiful Thanksgiving!

In the Spirit of Thanksgiving

(I love this video, especially the guy who is grateful for things he doesn't yet have...now that's hope! ;))

A Glimpse into the life of Mouse

Something I can wear? Perfect! (I've also caught her multiple times wearing her socks on her hands rather than her feet.)

She loves to organize, and I'll often find items lined up along the bottom stair.

Why bring the toys out when I can just join them in the basket?

Aren't stickers the greatest? This one happens to be the price sticker from her new shoes...

Our Attic!

With the installation of a furnace, the guy we worked with gave us a great deal on a new attic access. We've been wanting one for a while now, as it will be increased, better, and more convenient storage than our crawl space (not to mention it will save me from having to wash all the linens in our linen closet every time someone needs to get up there...).

So, the access was installed, and we have started on our "pet project" - actually putting in a light and outlet, a floor, and maybe some other fun little additions (walls, a bench/shelf, whatever).

(No it's not snowing in our attic, that's insulation floating around. Mmmm.)

My brother was kind enough to come be part of the fun, and lend us the truck to help haul the materials.

And the final word is...

Mouse is going to be a big sister! Wait, you already knew that.

What I meant was...

SHE IS GOING TO HAVE A LITTLE SISTER! Introducing Meimei ("may-may," or "little sister"): (Note: Blogger is not letting me upload the pictures. :( They will be up as soon as possible...)

Yep, we are having another girl. Mine is excited to have a house full of girls, believe it or not. (We'll see how long that lasts, bwa ha ha ha... just kidding.) And I'm excited that Mouse gets to have a sister, as it is something I missed out on growing up. I love my brothers, but they just never went for those chick flick nights or painting their nails or anything "girlie" like that. Although I did borrow their clothes occasionally (ha ha, I've always had such great fashion sense...).

Happy All-Saint's Day!

(And Happy Halloween...)

(Two of the three blind mice; unfortunately, Mine didn't get into any of our pictures with us)

Our "Swiss Cheese" House

We are in the process of installing a furnace and a water heater in our house! Yes, I know, most homes come with those already installed. Well, we live in an interesting town home community that all shares one boiler system. It's not very efficient, and although our heat is included in our HOA fee (which is quite large), most of that fee goes toward paying for those old, stinking boilers and not toward the actual community. Well, after a long battle, we have voted to set a date for everyone to get off the system (and thus be responsible for their own heat...!). We have two years, but Mine and I figured that if we jumped on it now, the price would never get any better (what with all the government rebates and tax credits, etc). It's still quite a blow (hellooo student debt!), but we are excited to have centralized heating and air!

YAY! No more fickle showers! No more climbing up on the roof to maintain the swamp cooler! No more loud fans for our heat (that only works well in 1/2 the house)! Yay for a reduced HOA fee!

And as a bonus, we've had a drop-down staircase installed to our attic, so now we have extra storage! (At least, we will once we lay a floor down up there...yay for pet projects!)

Whew. Needless to say, it's been a crazy, messy, and busy week. It'll be nice to have our home to ourselves again. And to have it clean again. And warm. :)

What a girl!

(Note: She put these things on all by herself and climbed onto the couch. I just couldn't miss the picture opportunity...)

Thank you for the Music

My Grandma Stratford passed away early this morning. We've had a few weeks to prepare for this, as we found out last month that she had Lymphoma and the doctors gave her three weeks to live; she lived almost 4 1/2. What a sweet time this has been to visit often and be around her.

Thank you, Grandma, for the memories we have together, of all the fun shopping trips, guitar recitals, vacations, and books on tape. Thank you for the half of my wardrobe that always came from you; you always did wear the most fashionable things. Thank you for the love of crocheting and for the many hats, sweaters, and beautiful blankets that came from your skilled hands. Thank you for your consistency in living the gospel and teaching us good morals, habits, and manners. And most of all, thank you for the music that has become one of the biggest parts of my life; I promise I will pass that down to my children and that music will continue to live on in our fingers, our voices, and most especially our hearts.

We love you, and will miss you dearly.

Go Get Your Very Own Copy TODAY!!!

Introducing:

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

This is an amazing book written by an amazing woman (who happens to be a great friend of mine, and has been since 5th grade). Truly, I wouldn't be surprised if this book (or at least the next one after people read this one) makes the New York Times best seller list.

Do yourself a favor, give yourself a nice break, and READ THIS BOOK!! You won't regret it. :)

Update: It has made the New York Times best seller list (the children's/teens one) and that's in the first week! Although it's totally unique from the Twilight series, it is in the same genre - YA, paranormal, etc. So if you liked those, I'd give this one a try. ;)

I Found

...three shoes and a book jacket...in the garbage can. Hm. It seems Mouse has discovered the endless thrills of throwing things away.

Oh, yippee.

Note to Self...

Pregnancy is not the time to try new recipes, especially when it involves zucchini every night. On the bright side, we have tons, so I don't mind throwing it away as much. (It sure beats throwing it up...)


Anyone want zucchini? Anyone? No, seriously, anyone?

Bookworm

This girl absolutely LOVES reading. Hm. She must be my daughter...

I'm sick and couldn't be happier about it

But don't worry, it's not catching. And I know when it will definitely end. It might end earlier than that even, but judging from previous experience probably not; I threw up almost every day of those 9 months.

Yep! :)

Our family of three is now a family of three and a half...er, actually three and one sixth. If all goes well, there should be four of us by the end of March!

So that's why I've been a little MIA - I love blogging, but it's not been my top priority lately. Thanks for hanging in there! ;)

Random Summertime Photos

I just found these in a draft post, but I can't remember what I meant to post these as; probably it was a "catch-up" post. Whatever. Enjoy. Or not.

New "Do's"

"Yay! I finally have enough hair (barely)!"

Oh yeah, the girls are feeling a little more "girly!"

Yikes!

Almost a month has gone by since I posted last!

Well, a lot has been happening...and of course I've forgotten the details about most of it.

We're not trying to sell our home any more - turns out the Lord wants us here a little longer; we finally finished putting in our garden in the back yard - it has taken us almost two years to get a little rock wall built around it! But it is beautiful now, and we're really excited to enjoy the fruits (and veggies) of our labors.

Mouse continues to surprise and delight with her antics and progress and bright personality; she is almost walking on her own now - she just doesn't trust herself enough yet and wants the reassurance of a hand to hold on to. She calls every animal a dog ("dah"), and assumes they all moo like a cow. I'm sure she'll figure things out eventually.

And well, all in all life continues on as normal. And honestly, that's about all I can handle some days! :)

Happy Birthday!

I can't believe it's been a year. This sweet little angel has come into our home and changed our lives forever. Now I can't imagine life without her.

Happy birthday little Mouse! We love you!!!!

These are a Few of [Mouse's] Favorite Things...

(Yay! My pictures are importing again!)

Walking...Playing with Grandma and drinking Grandpa's "Green drink"...

Playing the piano (and guitar of course)...

...and last but certainly not least, generally making a mess and loving every minute of it!

Argh!

My pictures aren't importing into my computer.

I have some lovely posts I've wanted to post, but the pictures are a main feature. They just wouldn't be the same without them. Well, maybe one could be ok. I'll post it next. Just know that there are supposed to be pictures...

New and News

Once upon a time, in our cute little town-home, we thought we heard something behind or inside our oven. The noise stopped, so I went to get Mouse ready for bed while Mine did homework. Well, the noise started again, so Mine decided to turn everything on at once. The noise changed, and...

Poof!

Our oven blew up.


After the smoke had cleared (and a call to Best Buy, a borrowed truck, a babysitter, and a few helping hands later), a shiny new oven stood in its place!


*bling*

I think whoever buys our house will appreciate the new oven. By the way, that's our news. We listed our house last Tuesday night. A possible opportunity to save thousands came up, and even if that doesn't work out, we'll still save money by taking our time and selling now rather than waiting until we have a time crunch next year in order to move up to grad school; and actually, when it comes right down to it, we feel like Heavenly Father wants us to do this now. So we did. ;)

Guest Post!

I have a brother on a mission (in Fortaleza Brazil), and every week we all write letters to him and share them with each other. It's a nice way to know what's going on in each others' lives and a great chance to bear testimony and love. This week my dad wrote a beautiful letter that touched me so much, I wanted to share part of it with you. He has such great insight! I hope it lifts your spirit and perspective as much as it did mine. :)

Yesterday while working outside I was pondering the idea of earthly wealth versus eternal wealth and the value of a soul in the economy of God. It hit me with great force the scripture in Malachi 4:6, "And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." Fathers and children are all parts of families. Turning their hearts to each other is the work of the Lord. These relationships are the only things that survive this life. In the economy of God, children are the real gold. The reality of the gospel is that true wealth comes from having children and teaching them to become as God is. I wonder how the world would change in the way they treat children if they saw them as the key to obtaining endless wealth and power. Righteousness, priestood, and the atonement of course are the tools we use to secure this power and wealth. It made me feel very grateful for my children and for my father. I reflected on the fact that so many children in this world suffer horrendous things at the hands of those who should love and cherish and provide. I thought about my own father, whom I know loved me, and how his own father seemed to struggle expressing his love for his son; this is all my perception as a little boy, and I thought about how I hardly felt any love from my Grandfathers. I decided that I would do all that I could to show as much love for my children as I could. I realized that the thing that shows the greatest love is to teach them the truth, faith in Christ, repentance, the gift of the Holy Ghost and being worthy of temple ordinances. Otherwise "heart turning" has little relevance. These are the things I think about to clear my head. When I am troubled by things going on in the world I ponder the things that bring the spirit, the things the spirit is bound to testify of and it brings clarity to everything else going on in my life and it motivates me to try harder to love. The Lord cannot turn your heart to me, and my heart to you if we accept each other in our sinful state. That is not love at all; love can only be expressed in our encouragement of each other to improve ourselves. There is no love in hell, only misery; no bonds of family, only singleness and loneliness. I felt so moved by this feeling and progression of thoughts. In the economy of God the value of souls is priceless. As I worked in the yard and pondered these things I felt so very elevated in my soul and the view from where I was was out of this world.

I testify to you that your soul is priceless to me, likewise is my soul priceless to you. And so it is for all men.

What I want to be doing right now:

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

My Days Lately

Does your brain do this sometimes?

Mine too.

Wait, what was I doing here again?

Happy Easter!

And Happy Birthday Mine!

And Happy General Conference!

(Whew, did I get everything? What a busy and happy day!)

March Madness!

This is a little of what's been going on this past month:

Teething!

(Once there were four, now there are six...even though you can only see two here...)

Quick Arizona trip

(Mouse and I traveled down to Arizona with my Dad (while Mine stayed home for work and play practice) for a cousin's wedding. A quick 3-day trip (two days driving...), but totally worth it - sun, warmth, and family. Mouse was such a good girl, and she loved interacting with the bigger kids!)

Painting...

(Our community theater is putting on the musical "Singin' in the Rain." This is a mural on one wall of the theater; I transformed it into Hollywood California from a scary nighttime London used for "Jekyll and Hyde" last fall. I also helped paint parts of the set.)

...and more painting!

(The Young Women in my parents' ward did a fund-raiser for camp by having a fun Italian-themed ward dinner (which people purchased tickets for). As part of that, they had me paint a backdrop and cardboard cut-out for a little photo-op.)

Play practice and opening!

(Mine has a fabulous talent for theater, especially the singing and dancing parts. He couldn't pass up the opportunity to play Don Lockwood (the Gene Kelly role) in "Singin' in the Rain" - one of his dream roles! So after months of practices, it finally opened last night. They do a fantastic job (and no, I'm not at all biased...) Come see it! For info, just email me at me (dot) megs2u (at) gmail (dot) com. :) :) ;)

(Note: This picture is obviously NOT "Singin' in the Rain" - it's from "Pirates of Penzance" a number of years ago. I just think it's a great picture...and doesn't he just have gorgeous curly hair? :))

Me, Mine, and Mouse

I've been wanting to come up with "nicknames," or whatever for our family (for my own sense of security and all that...) ever since I started this blog.

Mouse just came with that nickname, so she was an easy one.

For my husband and I, however, well, we just don't really have nicknames. Period. I don't really need one, since I write in first person all the time. But for him? I tried to think of things we like (dance, plays, music, books, movies, etc.), but nothing stuck. And seriously, I felt lame always saying "my husband" (Not that I don't like saying that he's my husband or anything, it just felt so silly and impersonal...or whatever). Then, the other day as I read a friend's blog in which she was writing about her husband, I thought, "well mine...." And then it hit me! He's Mine! All Mine!

So now when I'm sitting watching a play and someone next to me asks, "Who is that amazingly talented and handsome young man playing the lead?" I know how to answer:

Mine.

:) :) :) :) :)...

A Mouse in Bear's Clothing

I think these are my favorite pajamas on her! :)

Happy February!

Don't get me wrong, I love January (birthdays, snow, new Christmas stuff, etc). But it's a long month. And I think we are all ready for the month to be over around here. :)

So a hearty welcome to you, short sweet month of February!

xoxoxo

I'm Back! And Alive!

I have to admit, it's been kind of nice not blogging for a month (unintentionally, of course). But I also missed it, and finally found a solid few hours to post again - while Daddy is at play practice ("Singin' in the Rain" and he's playing Don Lockwood (the Gene Kelly part) - opens end of March...:))

Now, instead of trying to catch up in words, how about a few pictures?

matching hats from greatgrandma:

Trying to make snow angels in icy snow. We gave up within 5 minutes. But it was worth the photo:

Mouse in her Christmas dress. And I forgot to fix the red-eye. Oops. At least it matches the dress...

Christmas morning! And what beautiful paper to play with!

There was a dog inside! (Which she LOVES, by the way. I plan on posting a video of her with it soon...)

"Look what else I got for Christmas!"


Cutie pie with some friends.

My bookworm. Must be her mother's daughter... :)