Things that made me happy this week

It has been a week filled with a lot of joy, just taking a moment to share the good stuff! :)

Watching Meadow pretend to lasso her pretty ponies with a long strip of extra fabric complete with sound effects.

Watching Meadow fly Snow White around in Buzz Lightyear's space ship.

Seeing Parker's amazement that he can see underwater with his goggle mask now that he likes to go underwater. He was just so excited about it and couldn't get enough of it. "It is soo beautiful under the water."

Parker gaining confidence swimming and watching him feel proud of himself.

Meadow using the snorkel to make whale noises.

Meadow pretending to be a spotted catfish.

Parker doing his math packet homework over track-out without much complaining. First Grade homework so far is way less than the amount we had in Kindergarten!

Meadow looking out her bedroom window as the sun was setting. Me: What are you looking at Med? Meadow: I'm looking at the beautiful world Jesus created.

Making a new allergy friendly recipe that both of my kids would eat. One of them even said "Yum." Parker disagreed but he still ate it so I think he secretly thought it was a little bit yum.

It was sad to get released from YW but I am happy to get to work with the Achievement day girls! :)

A hard working, sweet husband.

A ward full of amazing women.

The support of Family and Friends.

The names our children came up with for the baby. "Squirty." "Jack-Jack." "Baby Bowser."

Meadow saying "I can't wait until Thanksgiving when the baby comes. It's just so exiting!"

Vanilla with blackberry concrete from Goodberrys.

Finished Painting Meadow's room pink and one wall with a flower/vine design. It about killed me, but now that it is done, I like to go in there and sit and look at it -- Pictures to come!

There was probably more but my heart is full of gratitude at the moment and life is good. :)

True Southerner

You know you live in the South when your soon to be 4 year old who is wearing a princess crown while coloring says:

"Mom! Crown and Crayon rhyme!"

hehehe :D

Crazy Fun

Parker learned to blow up balloons by himself this weekend and has been entertaining himself and Meadow by blowing them up and then letting them go zooming and tooting across the room. They have been laughing so hard about it that it is impossible not to laugh too.

Over the 4th of July we had fun setting off some fireworks in Hickory. I think the kids had the most fun catching fireflies in a mason jar in Grandma and Grandpa's backyard afterward when it was starting to get dark. Something every kid should try! They had so much fun and they are pretty easy to catch. We got about 20 in the jar and then took them inside and turned the light off in the bathroom and watched them light up. Then we let them go. We forgot to bring our camera.

My blog says it has no more room for pictures unless I start paying for it. lol. I am going to have to make a blurb book of remembrance out of 2008 and 2009 and take them off to make room. This will be motivating to get it done. :) Has anyone made one yet? I slurped it up but haven't started re-arranging or editing yet. I think it will be a little bit time consuming so I am waiting until August when things won't be so busy.

The verdict...

is that Eclipse is even better the second time through. lol. Amber had free tickets to go today through her husband's work. It was really good! I think this one is my favorite of the three movies so far. Well done and the acting seemed a bit better and believable. Also Edward is happy this movie. lol.

Also, I didn't re-read the book beforehand this time like I did with the other two movies and that might be a key to not expecting too much.

Greg hasn't seen it yet, so you will have to wait a little longer for his opinion... :)

Enquiring Mind

We record "The Little Mermaid" series on the disney channel because our kids enjoy it. Today, there was a commercial for the Jonas Brothers that showed a bunch of girls screaming and waving etc.

Parker: Mom, if the Jonas brothers came to our door would you scream?

Me: Well, if I did scream, it would be because they scared me.

Parker: Laughing

Me: I think only the young girls scream about the Jonas Brothers, not usually the Mommies. :)

Our Little Velociraptor

Meadow: Mom, I want to be a velociraptor.

Me: ok, let's pretend.

Meadow: No, I want to be a reeeeaaal velociraptor and run really really fast.

Me: Well you are a human, but you can still run really really fast, I've seen you..and it will still be really fun to dress up and pretend.

Meadow: (genuinely starting to cry) I just want to be a real velociraptor.

Me: Well, If you turned into a velociraptor, I might cry and say "Where is my Meadow!" We would miss you too much.

Meadow considering that: Maybe if I wish on a star it will come true and I will be a real velociraptor. Mom, If I turn into a real velociraptor, don't cry ok?

Me: Ok, I'll try.

Someone's been driving in my car?

Last night after family night, Greg was loading the kids in the car as we prepared to go to A&W for a family night rootbeer. My kids loove that. Their rootbeer IS the best. Anyway, he came back inside the house and said "I don't know what is all over your seat but I am not sitting in it."

Perplexed, I went to go investigate. I definitely didn't remember spilling anything (and surely I would have wiped it up if I had because I keep wipes in the car) and the kids haven't been up front that I remember. Sure enough, there were sticky splatters all over my seat, the steering wheel, part of the passenger seat, the armrests, the sides of the seats, and as I looked up, all over the ceiling! "I have no idea what this is either!" I said. "You don't?" Greg asked in surprise. I thought a little harder and looked around the console and underneath and remembered that there had been an unopened can of sprite in between the front seats. I found the empty can and the entire top of the can was hanging on by a 1 centimeter strip of aluminum. It had gotten so hot in the car that it had exploded!!

So NEVER leave a can of soda in your car during the summer in North Carolina. It has been a scorcher of a couple of weeks here!

Slippin' and a Slidin'

You know it's hot when your kids say it's too hot to go to the pool. Instead we waited until the sun was going down and broke out the slip and slide. They had a blast! Parker was very excited when he made it to the very end a few times. Meadow liked to walk, crawl and scootch along on her belly. It was pretty funny.

Is it me or did slip and slides use to be at least twice as wide when we were kids? Remember the wet banana of the 80's? I checked for fun on amazon and they do sell a double slip and slide big enough for two people to go at once. Probably not a good idea, but if one at a time went on it I bet no one would ever end up in the grass. :)

The cutest little pucker around

Meadow had her first ballet recital and she was a little bit nervous beforehand. I told her a story about a dinosaur that was afraid to go on the big stage but was brave and went up and danced with her dinosaur friends and everyone clapped and cheered for them and her parents waved from the audience. Meadow: "I feel better now!" (Sigh of relief from me)

She was so cute up there and was a great performer! Video is coming :)




Very pleased with herself that she had been so brave. "I did it Mom!"

Cry me a river

Top four things I have cried about since I have been pregnant. There really is something to these hormones.

4. Watching the older girls perform at Meadow's dance recital because I could fast forward in my mind and see her there.

3. Watching Shaun's new wife dance with her Father because I cannot imagine giving my daughter away even if it is 20 years from now.

2. Going through the drive through at Chick-fil-a crossroads because the teenager in the drive through window looked like my Grandma Claire who is in heaven. Had the same eyes, face shapes, hair color. I imagine this is what she must have looked like as a teenager. She is a wonderful, missed woman.

1. At Red Robin Restaurant waiting for a take-out order because I HAD to have a bonsai chicken sandwich, I was looking at the old posters hanging on the wall and the one of a couple kissing had dates on it and I realized that these two people who were so in love might not be together right now because it is very possible that one of them has died already. I had to bite my lip and blink quickly so I wouldn't cry on that one.







And this my friends is how my mind works when I am expecting.

The Whole Herd

It's been at least 7 years since all of the Brady children have been in the same state. Shaun and Taylor had their open house this weekend and it has been so nice to have Derek and his family here from Montana.
Here is Derek with Nephew Bryce.










































Since we were all here, we couldn't pass up pictures!














And while we're at it, it's been awhile since we had family pictures taken by someone other than Greg and I.

Introducing Mr. & Mrs. Shaun Brady!

Before:




A beautiful Day in Washington D.C.!






















































After:







We were able to go with Shaun and Taylor to get their endowments and loved getting to watch them be sealed for eternity the next day! I was proud that Taylor wore my wedding dress and love that she added a splash of Taylor with the green ribbon around the waist. We're so happy to have Taylor in the family!






































Reception in Pennsylania:







The reception was at Taylor's parent's home in Oxford Pennsylvania -- beautiful! We saw a couple of horse drawn carriages, a 3-horse drawn plow and Amish farms with women in dresses hanging laundry on the line. It was really neat!

On the way home at 8pm, I took a wrong turn and the GPS recalculated me down a long country lane where my mom and I saw a field with more fireflies than I have ever seen in my life. It looked like a Christmas field full of twinkling lights. So amazing.

Shaun and Taylor are enjoying the Bahamas right now and then back to Apex for an open house this weekend. :)

Meadow's three (five) wishes

1. I wish that I could have a new princess dress with a green jewel on it, no two princess dresses, one pink, one blue. You know what I want? A Belle princess dress.

2. A white beetle car. (She saw one out of her window as we were driving.)

3. That the world was covered in jelly beans!

4. That cars had grass growing on them.

5. To go to Disney World!

Three Wishes

Yesterday I gave Parker a piece of paper and divided it into 3 sections and said "pretend you have three wishes, draw me a picture of what they would be, 1 wish in each section." This is what he came up with:

Wish #1 - To fight a real Sith Lord.

Wish #2 - To drive a green (his favorite color) car someday.

Wish #3 - To have a REAL light saber as opposed to toy light sabers.


We'll see what we can do about wish #2 someday. :D

Happy 90th birthday to my Grandpa Woodrow Williams!

Happy Birthday Grandpa!! (Photo Courtesy of Haylie Coats)

What a privilege it is and has been to be your granddaughter! Just thinking about you puts a grin on my face. You are truly one of a kind and one of the best men I know.

My earliest memories are of excitement filled car drives to the farm in Idaho. We just couldn’t wait to get there. I loved everything about our visits with you and when you and Grandma Claire would come to visit us as well. Trips to the store to buy penny candies, requests to see your false teeth come out, the best homemade french fries and fried potatoes I’ve ever had, picking blackberries and green peas on the side of the house, playing in the potato cellar, feeding a bunch of stray cats on the porch, and bedtimes stories of the fox and the grapes and the three billy goats gruff. Sometimes we would have to shake you awake to get you to finish the story if you fell asleep mid-story and you would wake with a laugh and say “Where was I” and we would laugh too. I can hear your laugh in my head even now and it is and always has been contagious!! You would always make sure that we felt special and wonderful by saying things when we entered the room like “There’s that Heather, she’s a good looking gal isn’t she?!” or “She is really something special.” repeated in different ways for each grandchild that came in or out of the room. I loved to hear you sing or whistle and watch you work and cook. You were never in a bad mood and if we ever were you could pull us out quickly with a funny sentence and laughter.

I of course remember our visits to the old Indian home (see Derek’s letter!) and to the zoo! I’ll bet we got to see behavior from the animals that most kids didn’t. I remember once being slightly worried and fascinated about how angry you were able to make the monkeys!! And who can forget getting peed on by a tiger?! How many kids can say that? I was standing a bit too close with my back to the cage and you said “Heather look out!” but it was too late. I think I was too shocked to move! I also remember that I loved to go down in the basement and play on your exercise machine that had the belt that went around your waist that jiggled your insides when you turned it on. You always let us give things a try and be kids and never got upset with us! I also remember loving to look at all of the pretty dresses in the back bedroom that Mom and Aunt Ileen wore when they were in school.

When you came to visit us in the various places we lived you would always make sure to attend our different sporting events and fix our bikes or give them a tune up. I remember once that my neighbor friend also had a bicycle that was broken and she brought it over and you fixed her bike too. I was really proud of that. I knew that my grandpa was the best! We also loved the autographed photos that you would bring us of Miss America or Miss Idaho! :D

On a visit to Idaho when I was about 17, I thought it was so funny that you tried to set me up on “a hot date” with a local football player that everyone thought was so wonderful. Thank goodness he called and cancelled. Lol! I was worried about that. I adored coming to visit and getting to stay with you in Burley while I was at Ricks College. I remember stopping at the supermarket with you for you to pick up some beano and some snowballs. You held up the little bottle of Beano and asked me if I knew what that was and I said no. Then you told me it was for when you ate too many beans and got gas! ☺ You always made sure to show me the drawer where the candy and the snowballs were kept and you always made me feel at home and comfortable. I loved getting to participate in the everyday routine with you and Grandma and I liked hearing you listen to Rush Limbaugh in the evenings and when you would fall asleep watching the news on TV.

After I was married, I was really excited to get to come see you and to meet Beverly and for Greg to meet you. I knew he would love you!! We had the best time. I remember that you and Beverly both went out of your way to make sure we had a great time. We went to the lava caves, the place where Evil Canival jumped, Sun Valley, and the rock climbing place (I can’t remember the name of it now) but it was so much fun! One evening at the house the missionaries stopped by and they came in and visited and one of the Elders spoke in broken English and you asked him where he was from. He was from a small remote island somewhere and you said “What do you eat there roots (pronounced ruhts)?” I got so tickled that the chair I was sitting on began to shake and Greg and I couldn’t make eye contact. We still repeat that occasionally. :D I also loved getting to hear you say again, as I often remember you saying, when a plate of food is placed in front of you “I can’t eat all that!” We also loved getting to spend some time with Ileen’s family!! Greg was so honored and thrilled to be able to make the trip back to interview and film you as well. You did such a fabulous job on camera telling your stories and I always cry at the end when I watch it. We all know that you love us Grandpa and I think that is one true mark of a wonderful Grandpa!

Grandpa, what a lucky family we are to have you. Thank you for all of the things that you have taught us by example and who you are. You have made a difference in all of our lives and we are filled with wonderful memories because of you. One phrase in particular that I can remember you telling me repeatedly throughout my life is to “not worry about things because it doesn’t do any good and things always work out in the end,” a refrain that has echoed in my mind throughout the years whenever I had troubles or worries. I am really grateful for that, for your sense of humor and for your example of hard work, spirituality, and selflessness. I love you!!!

Love, Heather

Picture Day

Meadow had picture day for her dance class and they wore their adorable recital costumes so we had to take some pictures at home too. :)

Allergy testing update

Well, the results came back from Parker's blood test and it was as I suspected, not as good as the skin test showed. Not good. Drat. Although I tried my best to not get my hopes up, hopes have a way of sneaking up so I was disappointed a little. I just want him to be able to enjoy more foods, but in the scheme of things I know that it will be ok. We will just keep on keeping on and work at keeping everyone healthy and happy.

With the blood test, they did a panel of his other allergies as well. Peanut/tree nut numbers have gone up, as has egg (they are a bit worse) which can happen even though you are not ingesting them and is frustrating. Wheat was actually a little higher as well.

We have had a time with eczema through the spring, but we usually see an improvement with that as well as asthma through the summer. So that will be nice. We will go down to one preventative breathing treatment a day as opposed to the two we were doing through the fall and spring with both kids.

As a mom you just wish you could wave a magic wand and make everything better but they are happy and otherwise healthy which is a blessing and they are learning life lessons and becoming strong through challenges as are we as their parents, as are we all.

I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes

Greg filmed "Sleeping Beauty" for the Carolina Ballet and so we got free tickets to take the kids, Aunt Karissa and Cousin Laney. They enjoyed it! Well, most of it! After the dragon came out and Sleeping Beauty had been kissed they were finished so we skipped the last 30 minutes of the 2 hour ballet and that is when the true fun began. We had no choice, it was in our fingers and in our toes. :D

Before the Ballet:



Introducing their royal highnesses....





















After the Ballet: