It's A Wonderful Life

Playing catch up seems to be the mode of my life in the last couple of years.  At some point along the road of life I began to drop bits and pieces of my burden.  These are things that most think of as necessities.  I did for a long time.  Cleaning the toilets daily was most definitely a necessity in my book.  I don't remember at what child that stopped, probably when I had two babies at once.  From the time I stopped cleaning those toilets and washing the mop boards once a week I have let go of many things.  I have said over and over that there is nothing else that I can give up.  The problem is there always seems to be something more that goes.  Now it happens to be the laundry or moping a filthy floor.  I finally cleaned my bedroom and bathroom for the first time in  well over a month.  The dust was so thick that I had to keep washing my rag out. Last week I began to play catch up!!  That is a wonderful thing.  To me that means that something has let up enough for me to get ne

We have a very good friend who needs some help.  Even though we've only known her through a Yahoo! adoption group and email correspondence, we have become very close.  Cheryl and her husband have been on the journey to adopt a little girl from China.  She and Deanne have shared many of the emotional ups and downs throughout the process.  Last weekend her husband had a sudden heart attack and passed away.  This was very devastating to her in many ways.  Of course she lost her "whole world, best friend and soul mate".  Her two other children lost their father.  And their little girl in China may not be able to come home now.   Her life changed in an instant.  She is a very sweet person and has been surrounded by much love during this past week, but losing the main source of her household income, she obviously has many concerns about her financial future - keeping her home, continuing with the adoption, etc. Her trial presents us with an opportunity to serve through giving

We are going to be GRANDPARENTS.  Ahhhhhhhh!  I can NOT be old enough for this! OK, that is enough of the negative.  Now for the positive.  Sereen and Jared are having a baby.  Sereen is 8 weeks along and is due January 14.  She has the average morning sickness and hasn't thrown up yet.  She's not feeling overly tired either.  Hopefully things will continue in this pattern and there will be no abnormal issues only a healthy mom and baby.  I asked Jared if Sereen is emotional.  Sereen looked up in a state of thinking and Jared very quickly started laughing.  That told me right there how things are.  We women don't think much of the hightened state of emotions but our poor husband feel it.  Jared must be feeling it about now. 

Today as Malia, Olivia and I were on the way to the store Malia popped out an odd question that illustrates the uniqueness of our family. "Who was my Mom before you?" I was a little confused so I asked "What do you mean?" "Who were my parents before you got me?" Olivia interjected quickly with "Heavenly Father and Mother." As the light went on in my brain as to her confusion I realized I had to think fast. In the split second I had to formulate an analogy so Malia could understand our answer I realized I had in no way prepared myself for these types of questions. Who would have ever thought that their biological child would ask who her mother was? I just wanted to laugh, but decided to be a good mother and started talking instead. What do you say to this? I gave it my best effort and told the girls that it's like going on a trip. Sometimes we stop and eat lunch at a park or stay over night in the middle of the trip. But some trips