Catching up!

Okay tons to go over from last weekend and yesterday!


Saturday- Kristin, Will, Jason and Sierra came up to our neck of the woods for an Easter Egg Hunt that my work was putting on. The main gal in charge ended up having to be induced earlier then planned in her pregnancy a few days previous so the Sales Agents ended up in charge of it... Yeah neither sales agents had kids nor had been around a ton of kids frequently. Poor girl only bought 60 eggs in preparation... When Kristin and I started counting we counted OVER 60 KIDS! HAHA So Kristin and I drove to the grocery store next store, got tons of candy and 150 more plastic eggs to fill (we should have gotten 200 like Kristin suggested) and we brought them back to the club house to fill like mad women... Matt helped too while Will kept all our children corralled. We filled and hid the eggs (more like hucked them in bushes and on the grass) just in the knick of time to same a train wreck waiting to happen. It was a crazy event but I think it was sufficiently saved. There are a lot more details that would have made a fantastically funny post but we just dont have the time today... sorry!

After the hunt we went down to the LEHI Indoor pool for Suzanne and I's Family fun Swim Birthday Party! It was way fun and had quite a few family members come to sit and talk and some to swim too :) Thanks to all that came, Suzanne and I felt very loved and special! The pool there is AWESOME if you live around here and ever want to go, it's SO family friendly having stuff for kids Ty's age up to teenagers even parents like it! Ty really loved it, he splashed like there was no tomorrow. Some how I only ended up with pictures of me... I forgot to take pictures of everyone else. I think Suzanne has more, she'll have to post them on her blog sometime soon. Again there were a ton more things of note that happened here as well but we just dont have the time... (Matt taught kids how to DRENCH the dry lifeguards walking by...that husband of mine....)

Fast forward to yesterday. It was Suzanne and I's 25th BIRTHDAY, As previously mentioned. :) I started the day taking Matt to work at the crack of dawn. I picked up doughnuts, fruit and juice to bring to my morning meetings. I also picked up a little bouquet of flowers, Suzanne's b-day gift, and packed up the cinnamon rolls I had made the night previous for Suzanne's co-workers. Ty and I got ready and headed out to the office for the day. We stopped by Suzanne’s work on the way and sang a mini version of Happy Birthday to her, she opened her present it was a green coat that she had been eyeing and she loved it and Ty gave her the flowers. The cinnamon rolls were for my work but when there weren't enough and Matt and I each had one I decdided to bring them to Suzanne instead.

We went to our work and about 20 minutes into our meeting a guy walked in the door with some wonderful flowers and everyone went "ohhh" "ahhhh" "wow" "how pretty" etc etc. My parents sent me a lovely bunch of flowers for my birthday, so special! Turns out they sent some to Suzanne too, good thing because the bunch I bought her weren't near as pretty as the one my parents sent :)

We finished work at the office (complete with the co-workers buying my lunch) and Matt gave me the present he and Ty got for me... TICKETS TO MICHAEL BUBLE FOR TONIGHT! (Funny how I just posted one of his songs on Monday, tons more about the concert tomorrow I am sure.  :)  Oh and he gave me a Carmel Chocolate bar too... I gobbled that up pretty quickly it was really yummy.
We then went to Suzanne and Preston’s where I prepared dinner to the point where we could leave, we went and trained for our Tri and swam for 30 minutes. I think the swim isn't the most feared part now, I’ve decided its the run... I’ll tell you all more about that some other time.
We got back cold and wet and Matt had cooked the rest of dinner, the rolls might I add to PERFECTION. We enjoyed some yummy ham too. Then Suzanne got the Mmmmm Mint Ice Cream cake from Cold Stone for our birthday cake. We sang ourselves "Happy Birthday" and we dug in.
It was a fun and good day, plenty of nice comments, e-mails and phonecalls from all our friends and family made it even better! Matt and Ty were perfect gentlemen all day and I really appreciated that too. :)

Tender Mercies Tuesday: Sister, Twin Sister

In light of this special day, I thought today I would tell you all about my wonderful Twin sister.

She has one of the kindest hearts ever, she's quite easy going, has a hard time being decisive, is a bit forgetful and would NEVER hurt anyones feelings knowingly. She is a very trusting and loyal friend, no matter what and unfortunately mean people have taken advantage of that... that was what I was for, to tell people off from grade school through high school and even into college. Now she has Preston to do that. :)  

We always tease that she wouldn't have graduated even Kindergarten with out me. I always reminded her of the deadlines and signed her up for the crucial things... I think we both got used to that, wasn't a big deal. I think even to this day I still subconciously do it for her :) (Funny how I don't even have my college degree yet and she does...dang how did that happen!)

People always ask us, "Wow you're a twin? How do you like being a twin?" Our response is always "How do you like NOT being a twin? I've never known any different so how can I give a good answer? " That is how life has been for us never wanting a friend, we never faced anything alone, the first day of Elementary school, the first day of college... we always knew that we would know at least eachother. To be honest though I think that is why I am a twin, so I could be there for her...and vice versa all though I have failed unknowingly... (eh hem Seventh Grade apparently) and for that I have always been sorry.

She has always been the "good" twin so to speak. I remember in High School there would hardly go a day where I wouldn't walk by our bedroom on my way to watch TV to see her lying on her bed reading her scriptures. Another time in High School I was saying something about someone that probably wasn't very nice, I dont remember who it was about or what I was saying. But what I do remember is that we were in a group of about 5 and I ended my comments with something like "Don't you agree Suzanne?"
She said "Mickie, I dont have a comment, I think what you just said was a bit rude."

When I type it now it seams like she said it mean spirited but she didn't, she said it in such a loving way to cause everything inside of me erupt in guilt and embarrasment. I don't think I had the guts right then to apologize to everyone for gossiping, I should have... I apologized to Suzanne later though. I don't even think I knew the person I was criticizing.  Really learned my lesson though, nothing like being reprimanded by your sister infront of all our friends.

Funny thing is that we really dont look much alike so most people are shocked when they find out that we are related let alone twins!

She has ALWAYS been more thoughtful then I and she really does remember the important things in life. She is one of my closest and BEST FRIENDS and I am SO GLAD that she is my twin sister forever and ever. :)

Happy Birthday Lady! Let's hope for another quarter century together as awesome as the last.

Quick One

I have a TON to update you all on that happened this weekend! So many blog worthy stories!

I also have a ton of work to do today, so i'll leave you with a fun Monday song... Kristin told me about it months ago when I wrote about music... ever since Ty and I hear it on the radio OR on my YouTube playlist and we DANCE! The song came on this morning on our radio. I dropped everything and we had a good time dancing! Ty was smiling and laughing the whole time.

I always think about all my unborn children when I hear this song :) Maybe creepy? I dont know... I just haven't met them yet :)

I'll write more later hopefully.

Thinking of my last TMT post

I found this on the Mormon Messages YouTube channel... totally ties in with what I discussed in my last Tender Mercies Tuesday (wednesday) Post.



One of Matt and I's happiest memories with my Grandparents is driving in the car with them in Guatemala. My Grandpa started singing, "Have I done any good in the world today? Have I helped anyone in need?" My Grandpa kept singing the hymn while my Grandma was interjecting things like, "Oh yes you gave that boy crackers at the stop light! You also helped translate for _____ to buy _____ at the market..." Anyways the list goes on what my Grandpa had done to help those in need. He was just SINGING along though not really trying to take inventory on his good deeds but my Grandma had kept track. What are wives for, we are always keeping track. :) I think that is where I get it from though. Matt thinks it's funny, so does Ty, but I sing alot in the car while driving with out the radio on. Oh and YES it's usually a church hymn.

Well I better get to it! Maybe this message struck me more because I need the most work on it... I need to  "cheer up the sad and make someone feel glad... if not, I have failed in deed." During this beautiful Spring weather, with flowers blooming and birds chirping, smiling is contagious so it shouldn't be too hard right?



1. Have I done any good in the world today?
Have I helped anyone in need?
Have I cheered up the sad and made someone feel glad?
If not, I have failed indeed.
Has anyone’s burden been lighter today
Because I was willing to share?
Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way?
When they needed my help was I there?

[Chorus]
Then wake up and do something more
Than dream of your mansion above.
Doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure,
A blessing of duty and love.

2. There are chances for work all around just now,
Opportunities right in our way.
Do not let them pass by, saying, “Sometime I’ll try,”
But go and do something today.
’Tis noble of man to work and to give;
Love’s labor has merit alone.
Only he who does something helps others to live.
To God each good work will be known.

Text and music: Will L. Thompson, 1847–1909, alt.

James 1:22,27
22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

He Found First Gear!

Yay! Now I just realized that i'll have to keep the kitchen and living room floors even MORE spotless... because he'll pick up the tiniest piece of anything and try to eat it. Bleck.



He crawled all the way around the kitchen... now he's coming back over to me. He is much faster on the carpet. Give him a couple days and I bet he'll be kickin' it into second and hey maybe even third gear by then.

Tender Mercies erm...Wednesday

I thought of this "Mormon Ad" many times over the weekend. SO many people were so nice to us! People we knew and mostly people we didn't know. I had complete strangers see me with Ty and offer to help me carry things and tell me how cute Ty is. Also, when driving you could turn on your blinker and people ACTUALLY LET YOU OVER! The best part is when you waved to say "Thank You" they would WAVE BACK to say "You're Welcome"!

While we were at the grocery store our last morning, we only had a few snacks and breakfast in our cart we were trying to find a quick line to go through, this couple with a loaded cart was walking into the same line we were coming in the opposite direction.

Matt said "Oh go on ahead, we'll stand in this line"

They said "Oh okay great" even though their line was shorter. 

The man was very tall and bulky, he had a schicked head and a long goatee, large gauged earrings and big baggy clothes on. His counterpart looked the like she should be with him, not so rough but a pretty sort of biker chick. Anyway, the store opened up a new check out since all the lines we backing up, they called this couple over to the new line. The gal walked all the way back over to us in our line and said, "Hey, they called us to a new line you guys can take our spot"

We said "Oh, thanks!" so we took the spot in the shorter line they were originally in. 

She looked at us again and said "No over here." 

We said "OH wow thanks!" So we went in front of them and checked out really quickly, thanked them again and went on our way. 

I was so impressed by how kind people were in California, it was little acts for them but it was very nice for us. I think this week i'll be working on what President Gordon B. Hinckley taught, almost every time he spoke: "Now, brethren and sisters, let us return to our homes with resolution in our hearts to do a little better than we have done in the past. We can all be a little kinder, a little more generous, a little more thoughtful of one another. We can be a little more tolerant and friendly to [others], going out of our way to show our respect for them. We cannot afford to be arrogant or self-righteous. It is our obligation to reach out in helpfulness."  

Ty's 9 Month Stats

Weight
9 Months 19.51 Pounds 28th Percentile
6 Months 17.42 Pounds 49th Percentile

(YIKES! I need to feed my baby more!) Okay really apparently it is quite common especially when they start moving and crawling, they burn more calories and don’t gain weight as quickly. All though I am focused now on feeding Ty MORE table food and less bottle by the next appointment. I need to get one of those baby grinders so I can feed him what were eating.


Height
9 Months 28.54 inches 54th Percentile
6 Months 27.76 inches 89th percentile

I know I know Dad we need to keep massaging him before bed and give him the "you're going to be tall when you are older" speech. Like Michaela said though, I don’t know how accurate their measurements are, The paper was all squished because Ty tried to go to town on it...

Head
9 Months 18.5 inches 89th Percentile
6 Months 17.7 inches 83rd Percentile

Yep he's still got a big old noggin'! Maybe he'll be really smart when he grows up!

The other day he was slowly crawling towards me then he got tripped up over something and his head was so big he ended up doing a full on summersault feet over head. I thought it was hilarious, he on the other hand was quite concerned and started crying.

Wedding Stuff

Thursday we drove to Sacramento.

Friday morning Matt went golfing with Ryan and his brothers, Ty and I hung out at Ryans Apartment and went to the Library.

Friday afternoon we picked up Matt's tux, ran a few wedding errands then we went to eat dinner at BJ's. Really this was Ryan's "Batchelor" Party but Ty and I crashed it seeing as which we didn't have a ride back to the apartment. It wasn't so bad, but i'll be honest I don't think I like being "one of the the guys."

After dinner the guys all went to play Lazer Tag after dropping Ty and I off at Ryan's apartment. I put Ty to bed and I watched 7 brides for 7 brothers. I had never seen it... wasn't too bad... but I did fall asleep near the end there. Oh and I also did my toes to match my dress.

Saturday we ran more wedding errands in the morning and went to the church. I got Ty  ready and even helped a couple of the Groomsmen figure out how to wear a tux... those bow ties are tricky I guess! We attended the wedding and Matt being the best man was holding on to Lisa's wedding band. Ryan gave it to Matt to hold in a jewelry box but Matt switched it out and put the ring in one of those 25 cent cheapo toy plastic containers... ACTUALLY he WAS going to wear this mustache but he decided it was a bit inappropriate, so that's why he decided on the container switch.

Ryan was embarrassed but it definitely lightened the mood a bit during the ceremony. Ty made it through most of it with out yelping... but by the time "you may now kiss the bride" was spoken I was out in the hallway. :)

Afterwards we hurried over to our hotel to check in and we even caught the final minutes of KANSAS loosing to NORTHERN IOWA in the NCAA tourney... crazy stuff.

We made it back for all the pictures... cute family huh!

Oh my right eye swelled up the night before good thing I had the good stuff medication or it could have been worse! It's not too obvious I dont think, until I pointed it out to you all... oh and check out my dress! Suzanne's M.I.L made it for me... ohhhh it is SOOOO cute! I had quite a few compliments!

Ryan and Matt are buds...

The Groom, the Best Man and the Best Man to the Best Man

Lisa and Ryan cutting the cake

The First Dance

Lisa and her Dad

Ryan and his Mom

The pictures get grainy in the dark... don’t know why.


All in all it was a great trip, besides the fact that Ryan had no TV or Internet... I was DYING not watching the NCAA Tourney while the boys were playing or running errands. I even missed the BYU vs. KANSAS State game. I haven't missed a game all season! Good thing my BIL and Sister gave me calls to update me. By then end there though Matt was getting busy with his "Best Man" duties that I was making sure he did what he was supposed to do. Plus, keeping track of Ty around all these people that want to hold him got a little crazy!
We are excited that Ryan and Lisa got married and we wish them the best, we're glad we were able to make it to witness the occasion.

P.S. That spring sun in California was a BIG plus. :)

I Won!

(Photo curtesy of Everyday Chic)

What a way to start a VERY BUSY monday :) I looked at my usual bogs, BLOOM included and saw that I WON! IT'S A CUTE APRON from Alison at Everyday Chic! Just last Sunday I was making biscuits and Matt said "Do you have an Apron?" I said "No, why, do I need one?" the look on his face seemed to tell it all... but for emphasis he said "Uh you have flour ALLLLL over your sunday dress" I looked down to see massive amounts of flour everywhere. Luckily flour you can shake out which I did... but now I had an apron on my radar. I saw this give-a-away and took a shot. I also almost bought one at Bed, Bath and Beyond this weekend. Good thing I didn't.

Isn't it so exciting that I WON? Now I need your help. Go HERE and tell me which combo you like the best... I am having a hard time deciding!

Oh and i'll share pictures and post about the Wedding we went to for the weekend and also i'll post a little later about Ty's 9 month check up. Were thinking his head is still way big, his appointment is this afternoon. 

Leave a comment tell me which one you would pick! :)

P.S. Uhh mom and or Kristin I may take a shot at it... if I can't figure it out it will be sent your way.

Wedding Clothes

Matt and I are leaving either tomorrow evening or Friday morning to a wedding for our friend Ryan. Matt is the Best Man and so he'll be wearing one slick tuxedo! Because of this, I had to make sure that Ty was looking sharp, as the best man TO the Best Man.. and myself as the Best WIFE to the Best Man!

Okay really just a big excuse to get a new outfit for Ty and a new dress for myself. Suzanne's M.I.L Marianne is sewing my dress for me since I looked for a few weeks for the right dress and never found one. I dont have it yet, so you'll have to wait for pictures on that until after we get back. Also I was looking forever for a sweater vest for Ty... or something nice. Then my mom told me she had bought Ty's Easter outfit... it was perfect for the wedding too! So here is Ty in his New Easter/best man to the Best Man outfit. The tie is actually a hand me down from Jason and it matches the wedding colors perfect!

Ty will be the best dressed and cutest 9 month old there... hands down!

(Of course he'll be wearing BLACK socks instead of white)

Tender Mercies Tuesday: 4 times over

Along with the grass getting greener, the leaf buds fresh on the trees, the sun shining, the birds chirping and the flowers popping up through the once frozen ground comes my thoughts of Spring time. My cute Spring Bunny Yard stake is out in the yard and the days are getting lighter longer. The walks across the street to the mail box aren't half as frigid and my snow boots have been replaced by the front door with some sandals. Spring time has always been a welcomed and happy occassion for me. This week however I was reminded 4 times over how this life works and how with such joy, sadness can come as well.

11 years ago today, my mother in law Holly Raye Rochelle Spence passed away of pancreatic cancer. I met Matt in August of 2000. She had been gone just over a year when I met him. I know I have said it before but I so wish that I was able to meet her. I had been thinking of her when I remembered that today I have the chance to visit my cousin Emily, who was still born, 13 years ago on the 19th of March. Along the lines of still borns I also think of Matt's brother Jared, who was still born as well and how hard that must be for any mother to go through. All though I believe Holly is taking care of Jared now in heaven, waiting for the rest of the family to arrive. Then just last friday my dear Cousin and his wife found out that their little baby Jack had passed away in the womb as well and he was delivered still born. I felt like I was bombarded with sadness at that moment. I called a few in the family, talked it over with myself while snuggling Ty so tightly I think he may have been turning blue. Then I turned to the Lord for comfort not only for myself but for my cousin and his family, my husbands entire family and my uncle and his family, during this week remembering those that have passed on.

I know I recieved this comfort to my sadness from the Holy Ghost because I prayed. I feel the love of my Savior very strongly when I pray and it is almost immediate. Later today Ty and I will bring flowers to Emily while Matt is at school. We'll take a moment to sit in the sunlight and remember those lost. I hope that none of these four I have mentioned will be forgotten. These tender mercies of love and comfort have been felt and recognized overwhelmingly by myself and by our little family this week. I hope those that have lost loved ones at this time can feel this same comfort too. Much Love :)

There is a light at the end of the tunnel, I think I can see it!

Matt had a meeting with his Business School counselor a couple days ago. Sounds like he'll be applying for graduation by June meaning he'll be WALKING (like he is really going to walk, he didn't for high school or for his Associates so I don’t think he will for his BS either. Maybe for his graduate degree he will) in DECEMBER 2010 and be COMPLETELY done next spring 2011. Tricky thing is trying to get all his classes lined up when he works full time. The night classes have been VERY good to him but now that he only has a few classes left he is finding that they are offered on the same night at the same time. He can only take ONE of his remaining required class's this summer due to these scheduling conflicts, so he is going to take that opportunity to re-take 2 classes that he knows he can get a higher grade in, he even kept all of his materials (both were last summer when Ty decided to be come the night of a mid-term and right in the middle of a huge project, needless to say Matt was a LITTLE distracted). He hopes this will raise his GPA to be a more favorable candidate a top 25 Graduate school, our fingers are still crossed for BYU even if they are ranked 27 or whatever right now. Also during the Spring of 2011 he'll be studying and take the GMAT. He has all ready been looking at practice exams and materials for preparation. My boss is taking the GMAT at the end of this month and said after he's done he'll give all his materials to Matt so he can study too. This is really nice since those books can be quite expensive!

Also during THIS summer he will be studying to take his Series 7 test for work. This is a great opportunity, he is one of 2 people in his group even wanting to take the test. His boss is working very hard at getting his team the most responsibility and broad knowledge of the “in's and out's” of operations and the company so they can be very marketable for any upcoming job opportunities inside or outside the company, that is PERFECT for Matt. He loves working for Morgan Stanley and would love to stay but after he graduates he wants to be a good candidate for better jobs too. Everyone hiring in his field wants to see a degree, licensing and experience so he'll have all of those three very soon and HOPEFULLY he'll get some good experience AFTER he graduates too so when he gets out of MBA school he can hit the ground running. :)

Of course I am sure if Matt typed up this post it would sound different from his perspective, this is my understanding of it all. It's been a LONG road, and there is still QUITE the jog ahead, but as far as getting his Bachelors, there is a light at the end of that tunnel and I think we're very close to a few school free years before MBA school and hey maybe even a pay raise or two!

The future is so bright, we gotta wear shades :)

9 Months!

So a quick recap of our weekend, Friday we did a whole lot of nothing. We had to go to Men's Warehouse for Matt to be fitted for a Tuxedo. He is the Best Man in his good friend Ryan's wedding coming up on the 20th. While we were around the area we hit up a few places to look for a dress for me for the wedding and a gray sweater vest for Ty. We didn’t find anything for us... we realized we were in Suzanne and Preston's neck of the woods so we gave them a call only to find out they had some friends over. We decided to wait until the friends were gone then head over after. In order to kill time we saw an "In and Out" burger joint. We haven’t eaten at any of these new ones in Utah since they opened up cause they were always so busy. Well we needed to kill time so we headed over. We both got burgers, shared some fries and got some shakes. Now I am a stickler on what is okay for Ty to eat and what isn’t... but I decided that since he was ALMOST 9 months old he should try a French fry. He loved them... as you can see

Hmmm what is this mom?

I think i'll put it in my mouth...

YUM MOM! Why have you denied this goodness for so long... mmm food is so good.

After eating we got to Prezanne’s and with in about 30 minutes my left eye started to swell and I got hives so we had to leave after I took a full dose of Benadryl (I didn’t have the good stuff with me).

Saturday we woke up and my eye was STILL puffy and swollen so I took the good stuff that isn’t supposed to make me drowsy but it still does a bit. We headed down to SLC anyway to meet Will and Kristin with their Family pass at "Gateway Discovery" I think it was a bit over Ty's head but Jason and Sierra LOVED it! Kristin had a migraine and I was a bit loopy from the allergy meds so it wasn’t as enjoyable as it could have been. It was still fun though.

Afterwards we had Kristin and Will babysit Ty for us and take him back to their house while we stayed there and went to a Jazz game. I won tickets at my Christmas party from work. We had "Sponsor Room" dinner tickets too. It was really neat to eat there in a fancy room. It was a buffet type place with tons of food and desserts. We were I think, accidentally given THREE Sponsor room dinner tickets instead of two, so Matt decided to not let the ticket go to waist and give it to a random stranger. He left the room and was gone about 20 minutes. He came back with an older gentleman in tow who was there alone because his wife couldn’t make it. His name was Bob and he was a kind man who LOVED to talk. He sat at our table and we had a nice conversation with him. He was very glad Matt found him in the hot dog line and gave him a ticket for much better (and free) food. Turns out Bob is a photographer for NASA taking pictures of spacecraft parts and pieces… I asked him to take our picture.

Hmm not much of a people photographer is he. Oh well I probably wouldn’t have done much better.

We left and watched the game. It was good in the first half, then got boring in the second half because the Jazz pulled so far ahead. PLUS neither Matt nor I are big Jazz fans... it was still really fun thought go on a date, just us two, and enjoy one another. Then we headed back to the Wu's to get our Ty baby who incidentally spit up on Jason for the first time. HAHA poor Jason.

ANYWAYS, now for the real reason to post...

Ty is NINE MONTHS OLD TODAY! Where has my little baby boy gone? He's growing and learning so fast. He isn’t full on crawling but both Matt and I have had times where we are doing something then turn around to find Ty somewhere else completely and think... how did he get there so fast? I think he is closet crawling... doing it only when we aren’t looking! I would give his 9 month check up stats but his appointment was moved to the 22nd. I'll have to update you all then, and yes I can almost guarantee his head is still in the 90th percentile :)


He pulls on his socks, hence why the look like they are about to fall off and he just got a diaper change and we didn't put his pants back on. USUALLY he would be wearing pants... not that anyone really cares but me.

Tender Mercies Tuesday: Triple Threat!

Wednesday: We ran out of formula for Ty and I realized it when I poured that last drop into Ty's 8 am bottle. The Jeep (yes, you guessed it) is out of commission so Ty and I had to walk 4 miles to the grocery store. Last time I used the stroller I must have ran over a prickly weed cause we had a flat tire. Every mile or so I would pump it up again. Well, we left around 9 am. We got home at about 10:15 am. By 10:30 it was POURING rain. I said a prayer of thanks to my Father in Heaven for holding off the rain until we got home.

Thursday: Big mix-up, I was supposed to have the car to run errands but Matt accidentally took the only set of keys to his car to work with him. I had to coach basketball practice and go pick up the basketballs from the Stake Youth Athletic Director. It was DUMPING down snow so walking was out of the question. I was able to call a good neighborhood friend and at a moments notice she was at my door driving me all around town. She was SO kind to help. I thanked her profusely and said a little prayer of thanks that I have such good friends so close.

An Hour Later: After practice was over I had Ty in his carseat, his diaperbag and 2 Basketballs. Yeah that was quite the circus act trying to balance all that. Good thing Ty likes Basketballs because he had both of them in the carseat with him. The weather had slowed down so I decided to walk the short distance home as quickly as I could. Well the snow started right back up as soon as I got to the street. I was trying to hurry home with both Ty and I having snow DUMPED on us. Let me interject here that Ty is about 19-20 pounds now... heavy boy. A gentleman pulled over to us and asked if he could give us a ride, I politely declined (it was nice of him but I wasn't comfortable getting in the car with a single grown man). Then a kind gal that we go to church with pulled over and asked to give us a ride, she had her teen age step-daughter and little 14 month old in her SUV too. I thought about it with the snow pounding my face and then promptly accepted. I recognized her right off and remember speaking to her a few different times at church. She had no idea who I was though, just that it looked like my baby and I needed a ride. So sweet of her, she drove us the half mile home and both Ty and I were changed into warm and cozy clothes in no time. When I got home I said a quick prayer of thanks that random stangers (whom I actually DID know) have good hearts and want to help those in need.

During our last Stake Conference meeting a few weeks ago our Stake President shared how he has a goal to make someones day a little better every day. He told us that he was recently running a marathon (he does a couple a year) and he saw a guy that was holding his side in obvious pain, limping a little and looked mentally defeated. He noted that to run a marathon takes more mental strength than physical strength. He put aside his desires of getting a better time and staying on pace to stop and walk with the guy. He said he walked with him for maybe a minute, talked to him patted him on the back and told him he could do it and everything would be okay. He said many racers were running right by them, having to dodge around them. Most not even paying attention to them. He said he wasn't sure if the fellow finished, but he knew after speaking with the guy and showing special interest in him that the he was noticably better when he started to jog again.

I think this week I was on the recieving end of a lot of those little acts that helped me, making my day and in turn reminding me to "pay it forward". 

Classic Parent

Do you ever look at your kid(s) and think, "DANG I have one good looking child!" Come on I know every parent does it... Here's the latest of Matt and I's good looking munchkin.  

The real reason I was taking this picture is to show it to Melissa, she gave Ty this shirt as a hand-me-down from cousin James. Thanks Melissa! We LOVE the cute clothes! 

It was NICE while it lasted.

Since March of last year, no one has lived in the townhouse next to us. The owners started trying to sell it right after the renters moved out and never did, so the house sat for almost an entire year, empty. In fact, it’s really been all of Ty's life. About 2 weeks ago the house went to foreclosure and an investor (I’m assuming) bought it. Yes, I know that makes the odds of us selling this house for something decent any time soon go down but were not going anywhere for at least another year.


Anyways, ever since then there have been people in and out of the house, probably replacing carpet, painting and cleaning... you know the drill. The renters that were there the year previous I can guarantee weren't very clean or kind to the place.

One thing I will say is Garbett builds really nice sound walls. Most of the time you can't hear a thing, BUT with minor const. going on over there I can hear it. ALSO, when the carpet guys turn of the radio REALLY REALLY loud I can faintly hear it. This is where the problem lies, I am so used to the only noise I hear being from inside MY house that more then once I have gotten up and walked around the house to see where that weird high pitched noise was coming from or the radio on somewhere. I can now hear when their garage goes up and down and for a moment I think it's Matt... then I realize it's the next door neighbors. Suzanne and Preston had also been parking in the drive way there for the last few months, it was nice and close to our front door and their own private parking. Not any more!
So like I said in the title, It was nice while it lasted. I bet the new owners or renters will be moving in very soon. Maybe I’ll actually learn these neighbors’ names this go round.

Fantastic Friday and a Sub-par Saturday

What's this face? Could it be that you were LOSING to TEAM SPENCE?

"Okay Aunt Zan, what is that face?" Ty knows I always look like that so he didnt even bother looking at me.

Ya left one hanging Dad, better luck next time around...

Oh wow Preston, Thanks for adding that extra goofiness to the picture, it was just plain lacking before...

Right, well can ANYONE pull a good smile? *this one makes me laugh everytime* Nice Kristin...

Give us all you've got Preston, i'm shooting VIDEO! Yes, it IS a video Preston, stop posing for a picture. :) yes that is me laughing the entire time. (Oh and notice there are no pictures of Sierra? She wouldn't hold still for a SECOND! But you do catch a glimpe of her in the video, she was there... proof)

Jason wants a picture with Ty...as you can see Ty was tired and ready for a nap.

Yay! Got 'em all Mom!

Jason says "Uhh Matt I think you missed one... check out my ball... I cant miss with this thing, you wanna borrow it?"

I said "Uhh yeah Jason let me borrow that, I cant seem to hit the broad side of a BARN!"

I didnt know Matt was lurking so closely...isnt my laugh annoying? Suzanne and I laugh the same must be a twin thing.

Annnnnnd yes, Jason beat us all, well all us girls I think... Matt beat all the boys, AND TEAM SPENCE BLEW AWAY TEAM READING... thanks to Matt.

What do you do to celebrate after family bowling night? PURPLE TURTLE DUH! Sierra is finally holding still!

Love the Milk mustache dude.

The TRUE way to finish your shake, thanks for the demonstration Dad.

Not sure why Matt was pulling this pose...death by Ice Cream?

Mmmmmm!

Saturday we went to the BYU vs. UNM Basketball game to witness the winning of the MWC championship... we lost by 2... crazy game. Jimmer got food poisoning the night before and played only a few minutes. Boy we needed him. 20 bucks says a LOBO put some bad beans in his taco the night before...curses! My parents came too, but they sat in regular seats, not the student section.

Last but not least, here is my scootin' little Ty guy. He gets everywhere now, but still going backwards. He backs himself to this corner ALL the time then talks REALLY loud until I come get him. I'll go on record to say that he has about a week more before he's crawling... he's SOOO close! 

 

Tender Mercies Tuesday: WUV TWUUUE WUV

Spoken just like the priest in "The Princess Bride"

So as I sat back thinking on Sunday, what I felt I could write about today, my mind ran through last weeks events, which were positively a blur.  There was only one thing that REALLY stuck out in my mind however and it was a celebration that I was able to attend on Friday afternoon.  It was the celebration of the marriage of my Grandparents on my mothers side. They have been married for FIFTY FIVE YEARS! We adults (wait, I am an adult? When did that happen!) attended the Mt. Timpanogos Temple then everyone picked up their kids and we went out to lunch as a huge extended family. Let me tell you we are all one rowdy fun loving bunch! NEVER a dull moment when all the family is together. It was so fun to be all together, (even though my Uncle, Aunt and cousins from TN weren't able to make it... they were SORELY missed)

All of us were happy to celebrate with my Grandparents, they are truly some of the most wonderful people on the earth! In light of the last two posts that Matt and I have done I thought it would be only appropriate to articulate the love I have for my Grandparents.

They are caring, generous and kind to everyone they come in contact with. My Grandpa has a hilarous personality that you just can't HELP but fall in love with and is ALWAYS down for a good ball game! My Grandma is SO giving and is ALWAYS there when you are in need. They adopt everyone they can as their Grandkids and because of that many who are not blood related admire, respect and think of them as family. They love one another so much and that, on top of everything else, makes us love them even more. I am SO lucky that I get to be one of their decendants and partake of their love and friendship. They are a constant example to Matt and myself, and we hope to achieve the same amazing things that they have in their lives. They have been very dedicated thier entire lives to sharing and living the gospel. The spirit that is felt when either bears testimony of the Savior makes me almost cry just thinking about it. In some cases it has been in another language, in fact when we were little we would always request Grandpa to say the family prayer in SPANISH when we came to visit. Both are firmly rooted in the gospel and have spent 100% of their retired lives to the building up of the Lords kingdom, so amazing. I am happy that Ty gets to be around them too and I hope that he will take the time to get to know them as well as we know them when he gets a little older. Every time we visit them we learn something new. We are happy we live so close and can see them on a frequent basis.

We Love You Grandpa and Grandma! Happy 55th! Thank you for being our Grandparents, we couldn't have asked for better!