How random can you get?

Here's a quick update on the last month in pictures:

We had a great Christmas. Here you see Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, and the cow. I played the part of angel/shepherd/wise man/donkey. You see now why I didn't take a picture with me in it. My costume would have been very confusing.


The kids LOVED their Christmas presents. This is Allison saying, "Thank you Grandma!!!! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my new clothes."


Santa Claus lined up all of the Allison's stuffed animals so that they could watch the kids open their presents. Lindsay sort of blends right in, doesn't she?


Allison was badly in need of a makeover before Christmas. This is before:


This is the after.


Lindsay enjoyed hanging out with her dad for Christmas.


Here is my brain spewing some thoughts that I've been thinking on lately:

I smell like maple syrup. I've been taking a supplement lately that makes me smell like maple. So if you have a sudden craving for pancakes when you are around me, you'll know why.

Recently Allison has been fascinated by baptism. We've had many a baptism of her toys in the tub, but I had to put my foot down when she wanted to baptize Lindsay.

Steve and I had a really fun date a little while ago. We would like to have an international night about once a month. This month was Cuban night. We dropped the kids off at a friends house and made dinner together. We had this yummy Cuban black bean soup and picadillo empanadas. We had SO much fun.

Allison told me the other night that she wanted to go to Kentucky. How did she learn about Kentucky, you ask? Beats me. But I think that she may have somehow picked up the strange idea that the My Little Ponies live in Kentucky. Anyway, if someone knows a good horse farm we can visit in Kentucky, we're ready for a field trip.

Okay, that's enough randomness for today.

Silence of the Turkey

There's a body in our fridge.
Hacked and hewn,
Flesh ripped from the bone,
A hollow shell of its former self.

In the dark of night
We carefully pick its bones,
Place the carcass in a large garbage bag,
And sneak out to the trash.

We heave and puff,
Pushing it over the edge of the can.
It lands with a resounding thud.

We put the lid on
And stealthily tread back into the house.

Relief.

It's finally gone.

That was one good bird.

On living simply

At the park today I noticed an attractive young family. The mother was stylishly dressed with an attractive coat and scarf. She was perfectly coiffed with a cute short hair-do. Her kids were adorable--the toddler boy riding a fun retro tricycle and the baby packed into the coolest stroller ever.

When I looked down at myself, I realized I had carrot spit-up down the front of my shirt and my stretched out yoga pants. I contemplated my face free of any make-up and my ponytail with the strands of hair being held in by at least 10 bobby pins, and I sighed. I thought to myself, "Self, when I grow up I want to be like that mom."

About five minutes later, I heard the mom yelling at her toddler in not a very nice way. Even though she had a most impressive British accent, it didn't cover the frustration she was taking out on her little boy.

So I said to myself, "Self, maybe I should rethink that goal."

I've been thinking about priorities a lot lately. About how some of mine are good, and some of them are kind of messed. I've thought a lot about a poem that my mom gave to me several years ago:

"To live content with small means;
to seek elegance rather than luxury,
and refinement rather than fashion;
to be worthy, not respectable,
and wealthy, not rich;

to study hard, think quietly,
talk gently, act frankly;
to listen to stars and birds,
to babes and sages, with open heart;
to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely,
await occasions, hurry never.

In a word, to let the spiritual,
unbidden and unconscious,
grow up through the common.

This is to be my symphony."

--William Henry Channing

Sometimes I have to re-read this poem to be reminded how I want to shape my character. I've got a lot to work on.

Lindsay is crying. Time to go work on some priorities.

Thankful

I really meant it when I wrote that I can't participate in NaBloPoMo. I just need to focus my life right now. I do, however, need to share something tonight. Just for me. (Don't expect anything tomorrow.) I read Patty's thankful list tonight and I really need to write one for myself.

Tonight I am thankful for . . .

1. A great visiting teacher who is willing to help at a moment's notice.

2. The temple

3. Repentance--we can ALWAYS fix things with a little help from

4. The Savior

5. Prayer

6. Scriptures

7. My family

8. Brownies (Thanks again to my visiting teacher)

9. Ibuprofen and Tylenol

10. My soft warm bed

Goodnight!

An Inconvenient Truth

Tonight I stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few last minute items. It was getting late and I had both the girls with me. After hurriedly finishing my shopping, I walked out and loaded Lindsay into the car. I was about to take Allison out of the cart and put her into her car seat when I spotted it. The pair of Leggs Black Silk Mist pantyhose that I had not paid for. Sitting in the bottom of the cart.

Since I have been shopping with two kids in the cart, this has occurred with increasing frequency. Grocery items get stuck under Lindsay's car seat in the shopping cart ALL THE TIME. I don't realize that the unpaid-for item is still in my shopping cart until I get out to the car. Hauling my kids back into the store to either pay for the food or to hand it to the customer service desk is painful.

I've considered leaving with the item in question, but I just can't. I know that my conscience would bug me until I would have to return to the store at 2 am (this is when my conscience is most active)and pay for it.

Luckily there was a Kroger employee gathering carts tonight. I gave him the nylons and drove away in peace. Sometimes being honest is a real pain in the neck.

A Friday Favorite

My good friend Stephani blogs every Friday about something she loves. Stephani and her husband are currently out of the country on vacation, so while she is gone I thought I would steal her Friday Favorite idea.

I have two Friday Favorites to blog about today. One of the things I miss the most about St. Louis is Eckert's farm. Eckert's is a pick-your-own-produce farm that has a fun fall festival each year. I have yet to find something akin to it here. I miss the apple picking, hayrides, and the FABULOUS gift shop and restaurant at Eckerts.

While on our recent vacation, we went to another fun fall activity. Gardner Village is a collection of shops and restaurants set up in an old mill and factories. They have different events throughout the year. Around Halloween they decorate the old mill and shops with giant witches. They have hayrides with a witch and they encourage customers to dress up in their costumes while they shop. It was hilarious to see a bunch of middle-aged women dressed as witches while they perused the boutiques. We had a great time!

My brother took some cute pictures of the kids.



Then we took some pictures of these strange, but good-looking people.

We're seriously thinking about hiring a dating service for my sisters. Anybody know any single men between the age of 25-30? (NO LOSERS NEED APPLY! MY DAD OWNS SEVERAL LARGE RIFLES AND IS AN EXCELLENT SHOT.)

This man is my real Friday Favorite. Look at how cute he is!

Post-vacation grouchiness

We got back from our fun trip to Utah last night and I have spent the whole day feeling sorry for myself and being grouchy and tired. So to cheer myself up, I've decided to play the good news and bad news game--a game introduced by my good friend Leslie.

The good news is: We had a great time visiting family and friends while in Utah.

The bad news is: I've now got 10 piles of laundry to do and no motivation to do it--I'll blame it on my post-vacation depression.

The good news is: I missed the Primary program. (Sorry Leslie!)

The bad news is: I missed the Primary program. (Sorry again.)

The good news is: I lost the 5 pounds that I promised I would before I left on vacation.

The bad news is: I gained 3.5 pounds back by eating all the yummy vacation food. To Cafe Rio, my tummy thanks you. My thighs, however, blame you for making my jeans fit tighter.

The good news is: We got to see all of our immediate family who live in Utah plus all of our grandparents.

The bad news is: I spent half the trip feeling guilty for not spending more time with both sides of our family.

The good news is: I got to see the new IKEA.

The bad news is: See the previous bad news.

The good news is: We had the wildest, craziest princess party with my cousins' little girls.

The bad news is: Who knew that little girls could be so loud? I still have a headache.

The good news is: We got to meet my sister's new boyfriend and my brother's first girlfriend.

The bad news is: I think we embarrassed the heck out of both my brother and sister. Um . . . or maybe I should put that as one of the good things.

The good news is: Allison and Lindsay were SO good on the trip home.

The bad news is: It took over 16 hours to get home. We left at 9 am and didn't get home until 1 am this morning.

The good news is: I think Lindsay finally forgave me for chopping off part of her finger this morning.

The bad news is: I chopped off part of Lindsay's finger this morning while trying to cut her fingernails. I seriously thought she would need stitches. I spent all day feeling horrible.

The good news is: I get to go to bed now.

The bad news is: I don't know if I can find my bed under all the laundry.

Moving On

I don't know how to start this blog. I've had so many feelings and thoughts swirling around inside me today that I don't know how to begin. Today was our daughter's birthday. Elizabeth would have been four years old today.

When we lost Elizabeth, we felt surrounded by the love of our family and friends. So many of them seemed to know just the right thing to say and do to touch our hearts. We appreciated that love.

Steve's boss at the time, however, came to him one day and said, "I was sorry to hear that your baby died. Um. Well. You know, these things happen, and we move on." Then he turned around and walked away.

Steve was stunned. Surgeons are known for their lack of tact, but this seemed pretty insensitive. This conversation became a running joke between us--whenever something bad would happen, we would just say "these things happen, and we move on." As time has passed, I have come to see this conversation a little differently though.

Bad things DO happen to everyone. People lose their jobs, spouses get sick, children lose their way, and sometimes we lose the people that we love. These things happen, and the only way we can heal is to keep going, to move on. Some days it is excruciatingly painful to keep going, but we have to move forward with our lives.

Steve and I felt overwhelmed by the love of our Heavenly Father at the time of Elizabeth's birth and death. As I listened to the talk given by Elder Tenorio during the Sunday afternoon conference, I understood a little how he felt when his children died. The blessings of the temple are extremely comforting. Even though it was hard to lose our child and to be faced with the possibility that we might never have children, the concept of eternal families enabled us to move forward with our lives.

At the time that Elizabeth died, I didn't want the pain to go away. I thought that if I stopped hurting, that I would forget. I was wrong. As I have "moved on" the pain has lessened, but I have not forgotten our sweet baby. Today we talked to Allison for the first time about her sister Elizabeth. We showed her the baby blanket and Elizabeth's picture and we told her that she has a sister that lives with Heavenly Father. Steve even baked a cake for Elizabeth's birthday and we had a little party. I was amazed at how much Allison understood. She was excited to have another sister and kept talking about how she has two sisters--Lindsay and Elizabeth. It was one of the sweetest experiences I have ever had.

I have rambled for too long. The bottom line is that I AM happy. Our family is happy. I would not change the experiences that we have had and I am so grateful for our blessings.

Happy Birthday little one!

Blogging school

To whom it may concern:

I thought I would do a little tutorial for you on how to comment on the blog. I know it may seem a little intimidating to try something new, but you can do it. It is SO easy.

First, notice the bottom of this post there is something that says COMMENTS. Click on the comments section and it will bring up a new screen. Just type your comment in the "LEAVE A COMMENT" section. It doesn't have to be profound or funny. It doesn't even have to be nice--though I might cry a little if it is mean. What is most important is that you leave a comment! I love getting feedback.

Anyway, once you have typed your comment you have three ways of identifying yourself. First, if you have a Google email account or blog, you click on the circle next to GOOGLE/BLOGGER. Then you enter your email into the USER NAME space and your password in the PASSWORD space. Once that is done, just hit publish and your comment is on the way.

If you do not have a Google account, you can click on OTHER or ANONYMOUS. Use OTHER if you already have a web page that you are linked to. Enter your web page address and your name. If you do not have a web page, then include your name in the text of your comment and click on ANONYMOUS and the PUBLISH button when you are done.

See how easy it is. Okay Ellison family, there are NO MORE EXCUSES!

My new mission

I discovered my mission in life. Can you guess what it is?

"To be the best mother and wife," you say? "To be a useful, productive human being," you ask?

No. While those are worthwhile missions, my mission is much more important. My mission in life from here on out will be to convince people NOT to put carpet in their dining rooms.

I don't know who came up with the fantastic idea to put carpet in my dining area, but that person should be reprimanded. Severely.

So here are my 15 reasons why you should NEVER, EVER put carpet in a dining room.

1. Play dough
2. Spaghetti sauce
3. Chocolate ice cream
4. Chocolate pudding
5. The smell of Spot Shot
6. $80 cleaning bills
7. Macaroni and cheese
8. Macaroni and cheese after it has been digested and then puked up by a toddler
9. Finger paint
10. Kool Aid
11. Jello
12. Chili
13. Coffee (Okay, so I don't drink it, but if I did I'm sure I would have spilled some on that stupid carpet.)
14. Kids who think it's funny to throw food on the floor
15. Adults who can't seem to get through a meal without spilling something (i.e. Jamie)


I'm sorry if this is offensive to anyone who has put carpet under their dining table on purpose, but I JUST CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! We went to Home Depot this last week to look at replacing the floor in our kitchen and dining space. Unfortunately, it is going to have to wait for a while. (Especially now that we might have to replace the oven.)I guess I'll go call the carpet cleaners . . . that nasty, stinky Spot Shot just isn't cutting it!

Falling . . .

I love fall.

There is something so quiet and reflective about my favorite season. I love the changes that heighten my senses as summer turns to autumn.

I love the sound of the wind as it rustles the leaves. I love the way the wind stings when it hits my face. I feel alive on a windy day. Autumn's cold breezes waken a part of me that won't surface any other time of year.

I love the sights of fall. Colors seem crisper and brighter. The leaves on the trees with their riotous colors dance like flames in the air. The sky is always a brighter, clearer blue against those trees.

I love the textures of fall--the fuzzy sweaters, the brittle leaves, the bumpy lumpy gourds and pumpkins. I love the firm smooth texture of apples. The tastes and smells of fall overload my senses. Hot chili, hearty soups, and steaming apple cider make my mouth water. Fall always smells like cinnamon and pumpkin to me, but I also love the cold smell of the decaying leaves and dirt.

Okay, enough dreaming. It's time to face the piles of laundry and dishes.