ShamWOW!

Today I found out that some one's death had been overshadowed by that of Farrah and Michael.



His voice filled my house more than Michael Jackson's Beat It.



His face appeared on my television much more than that of the blond beauty.



I must say this man has influenced me much more than either of them combined.



He kept me company in the wee hours of the morning as a new mom. He had more energy than any 5 people I have ever known combined. He had something about him that you just trusted and above all, he could sell ANYTHING.



When he would say, "Aren't you tired of coffee stains on your clothes" I would think "YES", even though my hands have never held a cup of coffee.



When he would say, "Does your wrist hurt from digging in hard soil to plant your garden?" I would reach for the phone, even though my yard consists of a 5'x3' concrete balcony.



When he would say, "Is your back tired from hours and hours of scrubbing your bathtub", I would reach for my credit card...and anyone who takes a closer look at my bathroom could see the humor in that!



On Sunday he died. All week I have been hearing about the deaths of Farrah and Michael, which are tragic. However, I only heard of his death today as I watched a few episodes of "Pitchmen".



I like how Washington Post staff writer Frank Ahrens described him as “a full-volume pitchman, amped up like a candidate for a tranquilizer-gun takedown.”



I am sad, I feel like I knew him. I will miss the high volume and energetic voice saying, "Billy Mays here!"

Found photo at http://treesflowersbirds.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/billymays.jpg

A Little Sabbath Day Food For Thought...

2 out of the ordinary things happened today at church that I wanted to share. One funny, the other humbling (is that a word?).

We will start with the serious one. Today, as we were pulling out of the church parking lot, we saw a woman walking down the street with her 3 small girls. We decided we should stop and see if they wanted a ride, assuming they were probably close to home, but wanting to offer regardless. The mother hesitated briefly, until she realized I knew her daughter, who was in one of my former primary classes.

So we piled everyone into the car and I sat in the back with the girls so the mom could give Jared directions. To my surprise, it was about a 10 minute drive, which would have been quite the walk for anyone, much less with 3 small children.

So the point of this story is not to "toot my own horn" for giving a ride....not by a long shot! I was blown away by the dedication of this woman. I don't know her story. I don't know if she walked to church. I don't know if they make that walk frequently, or where her husband was.

What I do know is more Sunday mornings than I am willing to admit I wake up thinking, "I am TOO TIRED to go to church...yesterday was too busy, I just want to lay in bed ALL DAY...Ugh, I have to wake Kerrigan up and get her ready and DRIVE all the way to church...etc."

Do I eventually get out of bed? Yes. Does my attitude change once I have left the comforts of my bed? Definitely! Do I always see blessings in my life because I went? OF COURSE!!!!

However...

...I wonder if I would do the same way if circumstances were different. Is the "fire" strong enough in me that I would do whatever it took to attend church?

I would like to think that I would, but I am not sure. However, I learned today I need to make some changes. I am determined to get to a place where every Sunday I wake up and rejoice in the fact that I have the opportunity to attend church.

I am not sure what it will take, but I feel like today I took the first step!

NOW TO LIGHTEN THE MOOD....

I was a substitute in the Valiant 9 class. These kids are hilarious! It was seriously like night and day from teaching sunbeams (not that I didn't enjoy my 3 year olds).

I didn't teach the lesson- although Patricia did an amazing job!- I just sat in for some very unnecessary crowd control...they were such good kids.

Anyways, while discussing where good people who sometimes make bad choices go, the little girl sitting next to me leans over and whispers, "I think that is where Michael Jackson went".

Out of the mouths' of babes, people, out of the mouths' of babes!

A Day Late

Happy belated Father's Day!!! I first wanted to let you all know that my dad ROCKS-although if you know him, you already knew that. So much of who I am is because of him, whether through genetics or how he raised me! I am not sure if he will read this, but if he does...I love you so much Big Daddy Wayne! In the words of Tina Turner, "Your simply the best, better than all the rest" : )
This is my favorite picture of my dad...if you know him at all you know this is classic goofy Wayne! He doesn't look at all excited to hand me over to someone else, does he?Not only is he an amazing husband and father...he is also a terrific grandpa- a triple threat, if you will. Not at all above getting his hands dirty to show the grand kids a good time!

I also (of course), have an awesome husband who has a daughter who adores him! K saves all of her biggest smiles for when Daddy walks through the door after work. Jared, we love you so much and appreciate all the sacrifices you make for us! Thank you for always taking such good care of your girls!

I managed to convince Jared we needed to do a daddy/daughter shoot (I think he enjoyed it more than he is willing to admit. I can't believe how much she looks like him- except her hair, thank goodness she got that from me : )
So I love the coloring on this one...unfortunately I didn't take notes as to how I did it and am struggling to replicate- oops!

This is as close as I could get to getting the coloring right, guess I will keep practicing!

A Sad Goodbye...

Every once in awhile, you meet someone who you INSTANTLY click with. Someone you are so comfortable with that you never have that awkward "try to keep the conversation going while you try to entertain every time you are together" stages. Someone who is so similar to you it is almost scary. Someone who you can tell anything to and know they won't judge you for it.

Well for the past 2 years I have been lucky enough to have a friend just like that.

There are many reasons the Moffitts are on my list of favorite people. I would like to share a few.

1. They are a major part of almost every East Coast adventure we have had.

2. They love Kerrigan. They even changed their plans for going out of town so they could be here when we blessed her. She loves her Aunt Ami and Uncle Matt.

3. They are willing to be crazy with us. When we say, "Let's dress up for this party"...THEY DELIVER!!!!

When I say, "Ami let's dance like our Guitar Hero characters!" she not only meets, but EXCEEDS expectations!!!

When I say, "Ami, go frolic in the ocean", does she dabble her feet in the water...HECK NO!

When we say, "Sit next to the crazy lady on the subway", do they shy away...COURSE NOT!!!

Ok, that's not actually how that happened, but I really like this picture and really wanted to share it : )

4. They like to watch horrible movies with us. Once we watched a documentary about King Toads. It was AWFUL. We like to joke about it, it was so bad. We are going to miss that!

So now that you know why we love them so much, I get to break your heart. A mere 17 days ago, Matt was offered a job in Phoenix. By Friday they will be gone : (

We are so sad to see you guys go! We have had some great times and will miss you so much! Thank goodness you will be living so close to my family so we will still be able to see you at least a few time a year!

They let me take some "Farewell Connecticut" pictures. Here are some of my favorites:

I forgot to mention one of Kerrigan's huge 6 month old accomplishments...TALKING!

She is constantly making noise. Her sounds of choice are O , Ma, Ba and her newest edition Da (though we haven't got her to say Dada yet, sorry Jared).

Last night we were driving in the car, and she was talking up a storm. Out of no where we hear our patriotic daughter shout out O-Ba-Ma. Apparently we have a mini- Democrat on our hands!

Great grandpa Rulon would be so proud.

Pretty in Pink!

To celebrate Baby Carrot's 6 month of life, we did a little photo shoot...she is getting so much fun to photograph! Thanks so much Brandon girls for helping get her to smile! I think they turned out so cute...since alot of you enjoy photography as well, any tips would be greatly appreciated.

K also had her 6 month appointment a couple of days ago. She now weighs 15 lbs 10 oz and is 25 1/2 inches (I think, I don't have the #'s in front of me).

At six months, she can...

...roll over- her area of expertise is from back to stomach, we are working on stomach to back.
...scooch across the floor at a rate invisible to the naked eye. Not so much because she is too fast to see, she has just mastered the art of being subtle. I can put her down, and literally stand there and watch her and still not be able to tell you how she got from point A to point B. My own little Houdini.

...eat solids. Rice cereal 2-3 times a day, and either carrots or bananas for lunch. Tomorrow we start prunes, yum yum (No I am not trying to torture her, I was afraid the rice cereal would clog her up so I got prunes to get her regular. So far it hasn't happened, so we will make sure she isn't allergic and then keep them on hand for bowel emergencies : )

...shriek at decibels previously unknown to my ears. Seriously, do all kids make this much noise???

....sleep 10-11 hours a night. HOW DID I GET SO LUCKY??? She also is getting better at naps. She still has a hard time going to sleep if I don't put her down at the exact right moment (not too sleepy, yet not too awake- it's a science really), but she is starting to stay asleep for 1-2 hrs each nap. YAY!

...bite really hard with HER FIRST TOOTH (sorry Cynda, you really took the brunt of that)!!!! We went through a little prima donna stage a week ago, and I decided she was either teething or hitting her terrible 2's a year and a half early. Thank the lucky stars it was just the first.

At 6 months Kerrigan HATES...

...my blow dryer. How is a mother supposed to get body in her hair when her child screams in fear every time she turns on her blow dryer???

...Carrots. Poor girl hates 1/3 of her solid food intake. She still eats it, just gets a disgusted look on her face every spoonful.

...the vacuum- although I am not a huge fan either, must be genetic : )

...when I get on the computer. I am not sure why, but as soon as I sit down she cries and cries. Hence the lack of consistent bloggage.

That's it for now, but with a constantly changing daughter I can't wait to see what the 7 month update looks like.

Six months!!!

My sweet, beautiful Kerrigan Rose,
Today marks the halfway point to your first year of life. It has flown by so quickly, yet at the same time I can't seem to remember what life was like before you were part of it!

One of the happiest moments of my life was when we found out you were finally on your way. We had hoped and prayed for you for you for so long. I can honestly say you were worth every tear shed and every second spent pleading with Father in Heaven to send you to us!

I remember finding out you were a girl. I was a little worried your dad would be disappointed, but when the nurse said, "Its a girl!" I watched tears of joy stream down his face. I had secretly wanted a girl all along, and could barely contain my excitement. Daddy and I ran straight to the store to pick out your first outfit...he wouldn't let me get anything that didn't have pink on it- his little girl was going to be ALL girl!

You waited to kick until you were big and enough that both of us could experience the first time together. Words cannot describe what we felt the day you were born. The second you arrived, we both knew our lives had changed for the better. You make us better people as we strive to be the best parents we can be!

I love everything about you. I love listening to you jibber jabber all day. I love how your smile can make even the grumpiest stranger light up. I love how your laugh is absolutely contagious.

I love how you let me sleep in the morning, even though you are laying awake next to me. I love how you grab my face with those dimpled hands when you are ready for me to wake up.

I love the look on your face when Daddy walks through the door after work.

I love how your chubby feet barely fit into shoes. I love watching your eyes as you explore and discover the world around you.

You are the most precious person in the world and I LOVE LOVE LOVE you SO SO SO much. Happy 1/2 birthday!
Love mama

For her 1/2 birthday, we went jogging in the park...followed by her new favorite activity...SWIMMING!!! Noteworthy are the rhinestones on the sunglasses...classic!