Backstage

Greg filmed and directed a video for the Carolina Ballet through his current job that the ballet showed to the investors at a fundraising gala. It was immensely successful and the director of the ballet told us that they raised 4 x the amount of money that they normally raise. They contributed this to the video and this is the first year that they have shown a video at such an event. GO GREG and Mindworks!!

Here is a portion of the video for your viewing pleasure ;)




Well they were so pleased with it that they gave us tickets to the show and took us backstage to meet the dancers before and after the show. It was a really neat experience and it was fun to watch them warm up and get ready for the show.
I was quite possibly the most excited of the bunch. Here we are checking out Cinderella's costumes. Meadow was a little bit star struck and Parker was Prince Charming in his clone trooper costume.

Meeting one of the Step Sisters


After Cinderella told them that she wore her prettier dress later in the show and that these were just her rags Parker told her "I think they are both beautiful." All of the ladies said "Awwww!"

Touching Cinderella's glass slippers. :)

After the show.
We were leaving around 10:00 pm and Parker was having a major meltdown in front of the auditorium because he didn't want to leave and he was really tired (we were outside thankfully! lol) A super compassionate rickshaw driver and former mountain bike racer from Colorado, who totally understood because he has three kids of his own, offered to give us a ride back to the car for free since there were no other patrons outside at the time. We at least gave him a tip. So here are the kiddos riding to the car in a rickshaw with a warm blanket. What a night!

Questions and Questions and Questions oh my

It is so interesting to be a parent sometimes and to hear what your children are thinking about through their questions (often unrelated to anything that is going on at the current moment). Here are the funniest/most interesting questions that our children asked us this week.

Meadow - "Why is Jabba the Hut green? Next time we go to Disney World, I am going to find Darth Vader and ask him."

Parker - "Will the dinosaurs be resurrected?"

What I have learned

As I reflect on the passing of a dear friend and sister in our ward I am touched by the many lessons she was able to teach us all through her trial with bone cancer. I have learned so much from Catie Stubben. Here are just a few of those things.

1. I have learned from her to be grateful to experience all of the peaks and valleys in life and even enjoy and endure the valleys a little better by having a broader perspective. How quickly life can pass.

2. I have learned not to sweat the small stuff as much and focus on what is truly important. What was important to Catie was her family, her relationship with the Savior and being kind and reaching out to others. I actually received a gluten free cookie recipe in the mail from her that she found in a magazine when she was having terrible pain in her hip that made it difficult for her to walk. I was so touched by that and that she thought of me and was continually thinking of others.

3. I have learned through her example that it is possible to handle even the most difficult trials with such grace, beauty and even happiness on top of it all. Her husband Steve described it so well "I couldn't even begin to describe all the physical pains, discomforts, and annoyances she faced, nor the emotional weight she felt as she saw what was coming and worried about her kids, family, and friends she would leave behind. But despite all of this, though she had every reason to be angry or depressed, she remained positive--publicly and privately. She loved her family and friends, kept her faith in God, and never stopped smiling.

A couple weeks ago I was looking through pictures I have of Catie and something struck me. Even as she was facing cancer and death and everything that entails, I could always see happiness in her eyes and in her smile. all of the pictures of her while she was suffering tremendously. I am striving to be more like that as well. She was so happy for each day and moment that she was able to spend with her children."

4. I have learned to take opportunities to teach every time they present themselves. I had the privilege of serving with Catie in YW and when the YW made her a quilt and dropped it off to her, she talked to them about how grateful she was for the Temple and the knowledge that she was sealed to her family forever no matter what happened. She urged them to make that their goal and to prepare for it. It touched their hearts and there was not a dry eye in the crowd. When the YW wrote her valentines she was too sick to talk to them in person but she asked Sister Packham and I to tell the girls that you never know what life will bring or how short it might be and how important it is to always choose the right and focus on what is really important in life, to keep an eternal perspective.

5. To keep a sense of humor throughout our trials and always smile. :)

Thank you beautiful Catie. For everything. We love you!

A Night Away

So...for the month of love, my sweetie sent me away. ;)



To the beach for the night and it was awesome! I drove down on Friday afternoon and arrived at 5pm in Wilmington. I ran on a trail near the hotel down to the intercoastal waterway and took some pictures.





Then I drove around, found a sub shop, brought one back to the hotel, took a bubble bath in quiet bliss, read my scriptures for quite awhile, and snuggled in. :) I labeled this my mind, body, spirit trip. I woke up with no alarm (hooray!!) at 8 and had breakfast, went to the workout room and made sure every muscle was good and sore and then to the beach to have fun with the camera and the self-timer.







Got back home to the Family by 3pm on Saturday feeling like a new woman with all of my batteries re-charged. :) The kids had a great time playing with Dad and going to the museum.

Thanks Love!!

In my reading in Alma, I followed a footnote and came upon this:

D&C 59:18-20

"Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart;

Yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul.

And it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things unto man; for unto this end were they made to be used..." :D





P.S. Every muscle is still sore. lol.

Cinderella

Oh y'all, we saw the dress rehearsal for the Carolina Ballet performing Cinderella and it was so fantastic! Take your kids if you can! Feb. 18th - March 7th at the Fletcher Opera Theatre. Seats start at $20 or $25 I think and it is a smaller theatre so all of the seats are pretty good. Greg was filming so we just got in. It was really beautiful and fun to watch and the step sisters were HILARIOUS!! Also, it is only 1 hour long so it is the perfect length for kids and there are usually a lot of kids in the audience as well.

Sleeping Beauty is also coming May 20-23 at RMA.

Love-one-Another

I thought this was lovely. The part where Jesus is picking up the bread always makes me teary-eyed. What a wonderful example we have to look to. Thank you to everyone who has made a difference in my life. :)

Picture Day

It had been awhile since we went to an actual picture place and since Greg got a new job we thought he should display his awesome family on his desk. lol. :D Here are some new pictures of the sweeties.

A Black Belt Birthday

Parker is 6! He had the best time with cousins, grandparents and some friends and got to be a black belt for the day. He got to show off some of his new karate skills and even cut his cake with a sword. What more could a guy ask for? lol. We also made his dreams come true by taking him to the lego store on his actual birthday and letting him spend some birthday money. In the car on the ride home:

Parker: "Mom, can I change my name to Lego?"

Me: "Ummm, you have to be 18 to change your name. If you still want to change your name to Lego when you are 18 we can discuss it, but I think you are a pretty great Parker."

Parker: "Well, I still want to change my name to Lego when I am 18. Maybe I will change it to "Lego Guy."

Happy Birthday "Lego Guy!" We are proud of you and we love you. :)

When you are a Grandma...

Driving in the Car

Parker: "Mom, when you are a Grandma are you going to be nice to my kids?"

Me: (wondering if he honestly thought I wouldn't or if he just wanted me to tell him about the kinds of things I would do when I was a Grandma. I decided it must be #2. Thankfully it was. lol. )

"Oh yes! I am going to love them so much and give them hugs and kisses all of the time and come visit and play with them and take them to the park and sing to them and read them stories and bring them surprises."

Parker: "What kind of surprises will you bring them?"

Me: "Well, that all depends on the kinds of things that they like. If they like Star Wars then I will bring them Star Wars surprises and other treats."

Parker: "I am going give them surprises too."

Me: "They will love that. You are going to be a wonderful Dad someday Parker."

Parker smiling and feeling pleased about the whole situation of the future.

It was a good moment :)

Snow Cream Recipe, The Bedroom Reveal, and other updates

Ingredients
8 cups snow, or shaved ice
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Place snow or shaved ice into a large bowl. Pour condensed milk over and add vanilla. Mix to combine. Serve immediately in bowls.

SO YUMMY! Our wonderful neighbor Paula made some and shared.

Meadow is allergic to milk so she enjoyed a soy icecream sandwich. We'll have to try out a batch of soy snow cream.

And now for the moment you've all been waiting for. Pacing your floors in anticipation I am sure (hahaha) The new room!



Ok, first I have to say that Greg's Mom read the post about re-doing the bedroom and said "I want to help!" So she made this reveal WAY more exciting by buying us a sweet find on Craig's list (Chocolate faux leather sleigh bed!) Squeal! Oh my goodness, thank you so much. It is beautiful and we feel like we live in a hotel now. :) And thank you to my mom for watching the kids so I could drive to Raleigh before the snow hit and pick it up in the van!

It is amazing what a difference some paint and a bed can make! Woah. It feels a lot warmer and cozier now. I got such good deals y'all. I am feeling proud of myself so I have to tell you about it at the risk of boring you to tears. BCF stands for Burlington Coat Factory.

End-tables $0 (sold my old to pay for the new - yeah!
Bed - compliments of Debbie Winters' Mad Money Fund
Painting above the bed was just moved from another wall $0

BCF Bed in a Bag (Comforter and pillow shams and pillows $65 with a 40% off coupon $65
BCF Inspiration Pillow $6.99 (I know, what!?) $7
Paint and Supplies $60
10 Curtain panels (BCF) and and 3 rods on Clearance (Target) $146
Lamps (Target) $40
Wooden Pot (Target) and sticks to go in them (BCF) $29
Made $10 selling the old mattress frame -$10

Total $337

That still sounds like a lot to me but I know I got bargains. I still feel a little guilty about spending it though. I guess mothers get used to not spending money on themselves or at least not in those increments. It sure is nice to have a soothing place to retire at night though. I love it.

The next project is to replace the yucky builder paint in the Master bathroom. It is going to be awhile. I am all painted out. The ceiling parts of my bedroom about did me in. lol. :)


In other News! Parker participated in the ""reflections" art contest for his school and was a finalist for his school but did not move on to the state competition. We are really proud of him and everything was his idea from the subject to the design and the title. He also took the pictures himself and cut them out and arranged them. The theme was "Beauty is..." We asked him what he thought was beautiful and he pointed to me. I wanted to cry and gave him big squeezes. It made me almost forget the time he poked my belly and said it was jiggly like Santa Clause. And the time he said "Who in this room has a big bottom? Mama!" - lol! ;) He titled the piece "Lego Mom." The description that went with it was "Beauty is having a Mother who loves you."

Snow Babies

New Year, New Job, New projects

Greg started a new job on January first with a multi-media company called Mindworks Multi-media in Durham that he has free-lanced for for years. They were in search of a full time producer, editor, director, lighting guy and he fit the bill. He jumped in with both feet and they are keeping him really busy. It has been a welcome adjustment to have a steady income rather than having to rely on new jobs coming in and contractors paying within an acceptable time frame. It has been an adjustment for him not to be his own boss (his new boss is great however) and has also been an adjustment for the kids and I because we have been used to seeing him during the week a bit more. The trade-off will be him not having to travel quite so much...hopefully. We'll have to wait and see how much he travels this year. :)

Among my many New Years resolutions is to transform the master bedroom and bathroom into something that does not resemble the sarlacc pit. Our room seems to be a catch-all for odds and ends and is always the last place in the house to get some TLC. The transformation has begun but is not quite finished. It has been fun for me to paint and go bargain shopping for curtains and a new bedspread. I also caught a yard sale where I picked up some great end tables to match the new room and I sold my old ones on Craig's list for the same price. Whoo-hoo! And thank you Burlington Coat Factory for the coupon. And Thank you Vienam Vets for picking up some stuff we no longer use/need. To schedule a tax-deductible pick-up of your own call 1-800-775-VETS. They pick up clothing, furniture, appliances, childrens toys and household items.

Here is the before picture of the room:


Here is the inspiration for the new room:


Stay tuned for the reveal!

Thought this looked pretty sweet

for the daddy/daughters out there :)

A Night of Two Hearts

Daughters ages 4-12 and their fathers are invited to share their love for dance by signing up for Cary’s Annual “Daddy-Daughter Dance” to be held on Saturday, February 6, 2010 at the Cary Senior Center, 120 Maury O’Dell Place in Bond Park. Photographs begin at 5 p.m., and the dance begins at 6 p.m. Pre-registration by mail or walk-in is necessary; registration is $17/person (residents) and $22/person (non-residents). Father and daughter must both be registered. For more, visit Daddy-Daughter Dance at www.townofcary.org or call (919) 462-3970.

It is complete

The daring duo that is. Parker the protector and Meadow the cookie eating, lightsaber wielding padawan.

Jedi Robes do not have shoulder seams

I had a rewarding Saturday this Saturday. Parker has been wanting a Jedi Robe and I had a coupon to JoAnn's fabric and a dusty sewing machine staring at me. We found a beautiful soft brown flannel that yelled JEDI! and so we brought it home and got to work. I did a little research online and found many suggestions like "Jedi Robes do not have shoulder seams but many have a seam up the back" and "The hood should be large enough that it drapes onto the shoulders and can be pulled down over the face to disguise" and "The bottom hem is usually 3-4 inches because it allows the robe to drape just right." It was pretty fun and funny to read about. There were also a couple of patterns I could alter a bit and voila!

He loved it and wore it almost all day the next day and my heart was happy. Now we are working on one for Meadow. Every Jedi needs a Padawan (jedi in training) to help him or her. :D

Funny Girl

I picked up Meadow from Preschool today and on the way back to the house we had the following conversation:

Me: Meadow, what would you like to eat for lunch? ( And then I listed some options)

Meadow: It's a secret.

Me: Well, how will I know what to feed you?

Meadow: Say the magic words and I will tell you.

Me: Please?

Meadow: No, say the magic words in the house and I will tell you.

Me: What are the magic words?

Meadow dramatically: Falling leaves.

Me, solemnly, upon entering the house (Meadow looking up expectantly): Falling leaves.

Meadow: A hotdog!!

Ring out the old, ring in the new

New Years Eve this year was incredible! We spent the day before hanging out with Greg's Parents and Grandmother. Then, on New Years Eve they took the kids to the science center and to a movie and then kept them overnight while Greg and I, his Cousin Jason and his lovely wife Kelly got to spend the day in and around Asheville thrift shopping and eating yummy food – YEAH! We scored some good books etc. and had a great time looking at our leisure. Here is one of the favorite shirts (hand crafted!) we ran into but didn't purchase although it was tempting ;):



We ate dinner at a neat asian place called Doc Chey's where we had the best soup ever. It was called coconut chicken soup. Sweet, spicy, creamy deliciousness. I would have been happy to have a swimming pool full of it. The picture does it no justice but here it is anyway:





All of this fun building up to the highlight of seeing our current favorites and local musical geniuses THE AVETT BROTHERS in concert at a sold out show at the Asheville Civic Center! And oh, what a concert. One of the best we've seen.












Here is the beginning of the line at about 4:30:





Greg and I decided that even though we are getting old and even though we stood outside in the cold for 2 hours before even getting into the colosseum that we had to be up close and personal and stand on our feet for 6 more hours. lol. At the end of the night my feet hated me for it, and I walked into our hotel in sock feet because I couldn't bear the thought of putting my shoes back on but it was worth it! We ended up being about 10 feet from the stage with a great view. And the music was so wonderful we couldn't help but dance shoulder to shoulder with the other sardines. The band paused to count down the new year and confetti followed by fake snow filled the colosseum. It was awesome. They played for almost an hour after that. These were the best two videos we could find online:





The two opening bands were also very good and interesting.

Sally Ford and the Sound Outside (Also grew up in NC). Sort of a like a Billie Holiday 1940's sound but updated and modern. Very fun to listen to.




Langhorn Slim - A folk rocker with amazing energy. Very fun and an amazing performer. His voice sounded like a mix between Cat Stephens and Paul Simon maybe.


We got to sleep in (even though my eyes blinked open at 8) and have a lovely breakfast and them home to our cutie pies. A fun time for all. We hope everyone is enjoying 2010!



I heart Asheville.

And here is Meadow pretending that she is an AT-AT. :)