Mommy, I Need You

I was upstairs when I heard a plaintive cry from my little angel, "Mommy, I Need You!" I rushed downstairs to see what the emergency was only to discover my little one just needed me to sit beside her. She wanted me. So many times I get wrapped around what I think is important only to be reminded of what really is important - spending time with my little angel. She only will be this age for a small amount of time. We need each other.

So farewell, I'm going to spend some time with my little one.

Freedom

A friend of mine sent me an email with this video. I think sometimes we forget the sacrifice others give so we and others can enjoy the freedoms that we enjoy. Living in another country without democracy made me even more grateful to the men and women who have given and continue to give their lives so I can live in a country with freedom. Freedom to worship, freedom to voice my opinion, freedom from tyranny, freedom to vote and so many other freedoms. We even have the freedom to disagree.

What an awesome gift these men and women in the military have given and will continue to give.

When I think of freedom my mind reminds me of another great military leader who remembered. He remembers his God, his religion, his peace and his family. I wish I and others could be more like him. I love the scripture defining the tyoe of individual Chief Capitan Moroni was; "Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men." Alma 48:17 in the Book of Mormon.

I think back seven years ago when our freedoms were threatened. I hope we never stop remembering or fighting for our ability to be free. It is my hope that we also protect others from freedom of oppression and tyranny.

The Number Three

Three has become a VERY important number in our house. Since our little angel turned three this year, she has become quite obsessed with the number. At mealtime, she likes to have her food in threes - three carrots, three cheese pieces, her sandwich cut into thirds, three pieces of fruit. I think you get the idea. She also loves to count the people in our family - three. When Aunt Sara comes for a visit - one, two, three girls - VERY COOL! We have to read three books when she goes to bed or wants to have a story read to her. The other day we made a quick stop at the library. She picked out her books - three, and when I asked if she wanted more - no was the answer. She loves to pick flowers in threes. At church we bring three My Little Ponies. It has been fun watching how the number three pervades throughout our life. What fun we will have next year!

Our Little Songstress

Ms. A loves to sing songs! She will make them up all the time. Other times she will sing songs that I've sung to her. At bedtime she asks me to see "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" three times, because she's three.
One of her favorite sources for songs are from some books I purchased. She loves the fact that they are about Winnie the Pooh and his friends. She insists on reading/singing all three books in one sitting. I love listening to her sing the songs.

Sunshine and Sunflowers

While we were in Malaysia my sister, Sara house-sat for us. She has quite the green thumb, except for Violets (don't worry it's recovering beautifully). She planted a nice little garden complete with three sunflowers. Well, the sunflower has opened up and I love my bit of sun out my window. I am amazed at the height it has grown.

The Sunflower on August 29th

 and then on September 2nd

another on September 8th


Ms. A, of course, loves the sunflower. Yellow flowers are her favorite. Check out this. Every day she will ask me if she can pick the great big sunflower. When I explain that it is still growing she is satisfied 'til the next morning. Of course, now that she's seen a Sunflower up close, she calls all yellow flowers sunflowers, even dandelions. Sara, my biology graduate, informed us that Sunflowers have their own family, Asteraceae and dandelions are part of that family.

Before and Almost Done

Reed and I have been very busy the past week or so. We decided to upgrade our tv before the conversion in February. The TV purchase snowballed into a major home improvement. Well we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. We have several touch-ups and two bathrooms to paint and then we will sit down and enjoy our labors. For now here are a few pictures of what we have been up to.
Enjoy!

Before we painted our home and entertainment center looked like this.

White Walls Everywhere





















Now we have color! :) This picture is the three colors we have added to our home. There's Behr's Promenade (green) in the livingroom, Peanut Butter (brown) in the halls and stairway and Stable Hay (yellow) in the kitchen and master bedroom. We went to Home Depot right when Behr was having a sale. Perfect Timing. I love the new look.
The culprit that started this: the HDTV with its TV console and in-wall speakers. Star Wars is going to sound and look great!