I'm Thankful For . . .

Nate's patience with me and the kids. Sofia potty training herself (yes, that's right). Ryan deciding to use the potty . . . again. Disneyland!! Getting to see family in Las Vegas (I'd love to see as many of you as I can!) and in California. Traveling with people that I really enjoy. Getting to spend Linda's birthday with her. Grandpa's haircuts. My dad's surgery going well. Water aerobics with Mom. Sofie finally liking child care. Getting to go on the BOM retreat. Singing with the choir. Fabulous spring weather in February. Book club starting again. Oscar parties and actor tributes and Ben Stiller spoofing Joaquin Phoenix. Getting to go through the Draper temple. Ryan trying to make me happy by playing "All Creatures of Our God and King" on the CD player.

Book of Mormon Retreat

Thanks to Nate, I got to go with the Laurels on a retreat last weekend. We went up to the Wildings' property, which is overwhelming in both size and beauty. They were so kind to let us stay up there. A couple of the girls were able to bring their mothers. We ate great food and enjoyed reading the Book of Mormon for hours on end. After 10 hours of hard reading, we were able to get to the beginning of Alma! I appreciated the spiritual discussions and especially being able to see how everything fits together. Below are Whitney, Lauren, and Katie as we read!

Finally . . .

. . . I think that we've turned the corner. We started trying to potty train Ryan last year in September. He had been showing a lot of signs of being ready: interest, telling me when he was dirty, actually using the potty a few times. Once we started trying to teach him in earnest, however, he seemed to want nothing to do with it. We begged, pleaded, reasoned, cajoled . . . and nothing. We prayed, cried, tore our hair out . . . and still nothing. We took him out for ice cream to celebrate a dry diaper all day . . . and didn't see another one for days.

We promised him a trip to Disneyland when he could go to the potty when he needed to and kept underwear dry for three days. This was back when they had just put out the Halloween decorations. I started getting really excited and thought that he would be more motivated. He talked about Disneyland all the time, but it didn't move things along any faster. Last week, we made plans to go in March before our passports ran out for one last trip despite his potty habits.

But finally this week, with no fanfare and no warning, Ryan started keeping his diaper dry, asking to go to the potty, and going when asked. After three days of dry diapers, he started wearing underwear during the day and keeping them just as dry. So congratulations, Ryan, on taking that next step! I couldn't be more proud or relieved, and I'm fully aware that it had nothing to do with what Nate and I did and everything to do with Ryan's will to do it on his own schedule!

A Winter Story

One winter day, Sofie wanted to play out in the deep winter snow,

So out we all went, and some time was spent making a snowman grow.And then for more fun, we walked in the sun,
And Austen read in a chair.
And then they desired to sit by the fire. Oh, what a busy pair!

25 Random Things about Me

This was actually started by several people I know on Facebook, but I thought that I'd also post it here.

1. I am a Hoosier (or was for the first 12 years of my life). Nothing takes me back like corn on the cob, covered bridges, basketball, or the Indy 500.
2. I only met both of my grandfathers a couple of times, so I really don't have any clear memories of them, part of the reason I wanted my kids to live close to our parents.
3. I love the Little House books and wish I could write books similar to those.
4. One of my life goals is to sing in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
5. I love to travel. My favorite places I've been so far include lots of places in SoCal, San Francisco, Washington DC, Mexico City, Victoria, and England.But I'm always up for a trip anywhere.
6. I taught Mexican women to read one summer in a village, an experience that reminded me how blessed I am and how much we have in common despite large barriers.
7. I am constantly working on improving my bad temper.
   
8. Though I've lived in Utah for 16 years, I have never been downhill skiing (although I'll be remedying that soon).
9. I love to cross-stitch, but I stopped doing it in middle school and didn't start again until after I got married.
10. I really enjoy editing things; now if I could just get work again.
11. I sat on a jury for a capital murder case when I was eight months pregnant with Ryan; it was absolutely fascinating and gut-wrenching.
12. I am a total list person. I write lists about everything . . . and I find them all over the house, in my car, in my pockets. I lose my lists a lot too, so I end up rewriting them all the time. :D
13. My jazz piano teacher in high school gave me one of the most helpful exercises I've ever done: she had me write out a list of 100 goals and told me that writing things down is the first step to accomplishing things. I ran across the list ten years later, and I was shocked at how many of them I had actually accomplished.
14. I love to cook and read cookbooks for fun, though I didn't really start using recipes for anything but cookies until a couple of years ago.
15. I used to have a CDL and drove tour buses in Juneau one summer.
16. I have never hiked to the top of Mt. Timpanogos, although I hope to do it in the next summer or two.
17. I love couponing; between clipping and watching sales, I've started saving a lot of money when I go grocery shopping.
18. My favorite foods include sushi, stroganoff, soup, salads, and almost anything breakfast related.
19. Growing up my heroes were Jesus, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr. I have many more heroes now, especially my two moms, who are amazing examples to me.
    
20. I attended the 30th anniversary of MLK's March on Washington.
21. I started reading when I was three, and I've never stopped. I especially love reading mysteries and biographies.
22. My two kids are full of spitfire and energy, and I wouldn't have it any other way (though it is forcing me to work on my patience a bit).
23. I am married to my best friend.
24. I am named after my mom's sister, Elizabeth, who died before I was born.
25. I am currently the Laurel advisor, which I think is one of the best callings in the world.

A sure-fire way to get out of debt

Thanks, Jandee, for posting this on your blog. These may be the the truest words SNL ever spoke!