To Daniel's

We left mom's and headed to Bountiful to see my aunt. Aunt Elaine is my daddy's sister and I haven't seen her since Rebekah was barely one. It was past time. 

Rebekah was a little antsy with all the traveling. She was so tired of all this sitting and wanted to be up and moving but we talked for a while until uncle Barrie came home. Apparently he was out in Huntsville working the land. He'll probably be bailing hay in his 90's.

About this time Rebekah started to say she wanted to go. I pulled her aside and told her we needed to have good manners. "I want to go" is not good manners. I gave her other options of things she could say, one of which was, "I think uncle Daniel is expecting us." Then we went to say our goodbyes. As I was getting on my shoes Rebekah very strongly says to my aunt and uncle, "Uncle Daniel is expecting us."

We were suppose to stop and have dinner with my brother Joseph but were at aunt Elaine's longer than I expected. It didn't help that we left mom's late and the drive was a bit longer than I had planned. I also needed to get to Daniel's by 8 because a friend was coming to visit. So, we canceled with the promise we would see him on Sunday.

It was a good hour trip to Daniel's. We got a few minutes from the house when Rebekah started to close her eyes and she was out. This does not happen! But it did. And so I got a picture.

It was windy and snowing. I ran up to Daniel's house and knocked on the door, all the while hearing Don get Rebekah out of the car and Rebekah starting to cry because she was sleepy and the wind and cold...

But as soon as we got her up to the house and she saw Abby....

...all was well with the world.

We made it in time to see my friend, Pamela Morgan. I did not get a picture so I stole one from her Facebook page.

That's her and her husband Dean. I love Pamela. I aspire to be like her. She is so good and kind and she reads like none other. She has read so much and her retention is incredible. Her goal this year, which I believe she has already met, was to read 100 books. We met and gave hugs, she gave a book to Rebekah, we talked books (she gave me 3 more recommendations, I gave her 2) and then she was gone. I think it took 15 minutes in all. Not long enough but we picked up right where we left off and will do so when we see each other again.

Then I found Rebekah, who was playing like she had all the energy in the world, and pulled her away from playing with Abby. I informed her it was sleepy time to which she assured me she was not tired - right up until her eyes closed and she was out within a minutes time.

Mom's

It took quite a while and was very frustrating but we finally found a time to go to Utah that would work for most people (4 out of 6 families would be available). Tickets were purchased. I started to set up an account, spelt my name wrong and I had to call back two times to fix it. I decided to wait until my mom in law had Rebekah so I could concentrate better, and by the time I got back to it (same day mind you) tickets went up $100 a ticket resulting in the loss of one day of Utah time. I was NOT happy. But they were purchased. We were definitely going. 

Then there was the waiting. And waiting. Rebekah is not good at waiting. But we finally got to the ticket date and we were on our way. We left our house at 4 am. Rebekah did quite well. (Thought this was a good picture of her excitement but then I realized there was an unfortunate stalker looking guy in the background....)

We flew through Minnesota. They have indoor play areas. We had a long layover. It was perfect. We finally got to Utah but had to stop for a picture.

It was about here Rebekah realized we wouldn't be seeing her cousins right away but would be heading up to my mother's. It was a long drive. Rebekah was doing quite well with all the traveling but about Evanston she was done. She wanted out of the car and the traveling to be done. Don found a park.

She played for a little bit and then we got her back in the car (wasn't easy) and went to mom's. We arrived just before 5. If you do the math and consider the time change that's about 15 hours of traveling. Rebekah did remarkably well.

When we got there mom introduced Chester to Don and Rebekah (Chester doesn't like strangers and can be "protective" of mom).

Then, while dinner finished cooking, mom and Rebekah made a surprise treat.

Licking the beaters: a much loved tradition.

Back to the cooking.

Then, while it baked we had time to play in mom's hot tub.

Not sure how the events that night went: I know we ate a fabulous dinner, just not sure if that was before or after the hot tub. I do know we went to be relatively early for Utah time. Rebekah assured me she couldn't sleep in a new place but we read our books and got all ready for bed. I then excused myself to use the restroom, promising to return right away. When I returned she was out. It was crazy! That has never happened before! Apparently I just need to get Rebekah up at 4 am and keep her up for 19 hours of hard traveling and she will go to bed by herself. Good to know.

The next day she woke up at 4:45 am. Which is 6:45 am our time. Right on schedule. I was very sad. So, I pulled out the iPad and let her play until mom woke up. 

We had a great breakfast and then mom and Rebekah explored.

Oh, and Chester came too.

Love coloring time.

We planned the trip to mom's around swim. Mom swims a lot and I felt they could bond over flippers.

However, it looks like they bonded over watering cans.

Then Don wanted to swim laps. That far away black dot is him, the closer one is mom.

Rebekah sat with me and cheered him on. 

I suppose I should mention here that I did not bring my suit. Apparently I can only remember to bring things for Rebekah and for Don. Ironically the swim suit wasn't the most important thing I forgot to pack for me. I noticed the lack of my coat very quickly - even before the snow came.

But back to Rebekah. She was much inspired with Don's lap swim and swam out to meet him. It was a long way and she did quite well. The white dot is her, and you can see Don walking towards her.

Swimming was nice and all but apparently the watering can was the best. Love this picture.

Then we had to get going. We came back to mom's, gave Rebekah a much needed bath, had a wonderful lunch, and got back on the road. Not before I took this picture though.

I Voted

The day finally came: I had to pick a candidate. It was such a rough election period and I was concerned it was just going to get worse. Don left early morning to vote, promising to call after he did to tell me what I could expect while I took Rebekah to her swim class thinking I would run over to vote after. 

He didn't call for a good hour and a half. He told me the line was incredibly long but it was better now. Rebekah and I stopped on the way home. There was a long line but I thought we would push through it because I had to eventually. A few minutes later I noticed how cold it was. Rebekah was shivering. We were about a third of the way through the line when the guy behind me suggested I take Rebekah home and come back with a jacket. I thanked him but told me the people behind him may get angry and politely turned him down. 

Rebekah continued to shiver and I continued to rub her shoulders and use my body to warm her. Then the people in front of us suggested the same. They would hold our place in line and speak for me if anyone objects. 

We ran home and got her jacket and got back to our place in line. There was still a long wait. However the lady in front of us was very kind and even played "cracks are hot lava" with us. The whole wait. Bless her. Then she even waited outside until we were done voting because she had promised Rebekah to go on a run with her after they were done voting. 

At that point I had no idea the outcome of the election. But my faith in people had been renewed. There are good and kind people in the world. Goodness and kindness will nurture more goodness and kindness. And maybe then the world will be a better place for this little girl. Barbara Bush said it best: "Your success as a family, our success as a society, depends not what happens in the White House, but what happens in your house." And as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Love

The following was written a few weeks ago:

I've been pretty heavy with the concern lately. I cannot seem to find the the light through the clouds.  I haven't been sleeping well so that doesn't help, but I don't think it's just me that is feeling this way.

Last night Rebekah's cold got angry. She couldn't breathe through all the runny nose and coughing which meant she wasn't sleeping. I got my tired body up and talked her into letting me put some medicine on her, then I got Don's iPad and let her watch a few shows while putting on said medicine and then we tried to go back to sleep. This took just over an hour.

I woke this morning at 7 to Rebekah sleeping soundly. Gratefully, I rolled over and tried to get out of bed without waking her, did a few tasks, and sat down next to her door and picked up a book. I got about a paragraph into it before she woke up and I put down the book.

She came out, hair tousled, face looking like she has a cold, and dragging her blankie behind; sees me, sits on my lap and leans her head on my chest. I of course snuggle her close and said, "Oh my sweet snuggly girl. How are you feeling today?" Her reply? "Better now that you're here." Oh how that touched my heart.

She went on to tell me her plan for this morning. Getting out her hand and lightly tapping it with her other fingers she said, "my computer says you will shower, I will watch a show, we will play, and then go to story time." I'm laughing of course and I asked, "Does your computer say what I should get you to drink this morning?" She looks at her "computer" and taps with her fingers then looks at me, "It says Juice."

I laugh some more and snuggle her closer. "Does it say I snuggle you for a few more minutes?" Without moving she says, "YES! It says that too!"

Oh, the love of a child. What have I done to deserve such a love?

Which leads me to Christ and our Heavenly Father. As much as I love my little girl and she shows her love for me, They love us even more perfectly. Us. Everyone.

Recreating a Moment

Crazy what 5 years can do.

Sentimental

Had to give one of those "through the years" posts. 

Birth

One

Two

Three

Four

And

Five

I'm trying to think of something profound to say. Right now my thoughts are on what I have learned in the past years and what I would have done differently. I have learned Rebekah is her own person and I just have to roll with it. Trying to get Rebekah on my schedule with my priorities is like shoveling in a snow storm, rowing upstream, digging through the sand with a toothpick, etc and so forth. For example: all those first years when she wasn't sleeping and I wasn't sleeping and I was trying to force her to sleep... skip ahead to me co-sleeping (something I thought I'd never do). I still don't believe it's the best, but it's working for her. It's mostly working for me. Someday she won't need me any more. Heavens, she may not even want me any more! But for now she does and I'm there. 

Today Rebekah was in the church primary program. She knew her parts (she had three including one which was saying the church name in Spanish) without having to be prompted by the primary president. She sang (almost yelled - yeah I've got to work on that) all the primary songs in the program and knew at least 98% of the words. When we got back to primary they played a game and Rebekah knew several answers. Even excitedly yelled them out (not understanding the game rules - got to work on that too). My little girl knows the gospel. She knows because of Jesus Christ we will be together forever. That's what matters. We'll figure everything else out as we live day to day.

Kid Party

Rebekah has never had a "kid" party: it's always been just us old people invited. She's been invited to kid parties and wanted to have one. I assured her when she was 5 she would. (I plan to have kid parties at 5, 8, 12, and 16. Call me Scrooge.) 

Well, the day finally came and she turned 5. We talked long and hard about what we wanted to do. Rebekah settled on a decorating party. 5 of her friends were invited. While people showed up we played with 75 balloons. 

Rebekah was very excited people brought presents.

Then we all headed into the kitchen to color our aprons.

While people finished up, some played with balloons again. Got to love balloons!

We took a group picture with the just decorated aprons.

And then we set up for the real decorating.

And let them loose.

Birthday girl:

Success!

Then some more pictures,

Followed by presents.

At this point the kids weren't done playing but I had nothing else planned. They wanted to go upstairs but I thought that wouldn't be the best idea and suggested outside. I mean, how often does one get to play outside on a November birthday? So outside they went and started to engage in a sad game of hide and seek. Why sad? You'll notice the serious lack of hiding places.... So I suggested we play the bag game.

Rebekah and I use to feed the fish old bread. After we got rid of the bread I would stick the empty bag in my back pocket and run away from her. She would chase me and try and get the bag. It's exciting with one little girl chasing after you. When I did it at the party I had 6 kids chasing after me. I made it pretty good too: arms waving about and screaming "AAAH!" Now that was exciting. They caught it pretty quick and then they each had a turn.

Olivia had to go so I stopped to get a final picture. It was my plan to get a picture of Rebekah with all her friends individually but everything happened so fast. I only scored the one.

The races continued...

Until there was only one left for Rebekah to chase.

Turned out to be a great party.