"Mom, Do Dinosaurs Have Bones?"

Since going back to school and studying anatomy and physiology, I get all kinds of questions from the kids. It can range from "Mom, what do you call this right here?" "Mom, do we have bones in our arms (legs, hands, feet, bellies, eyes, ears)?" You name it, I've been asked if we have bones/muscles in just about every part of the body possible - literally!

On our last trip to California we needed something to do to occupy the kids and since the weather was suppose to be pretty wet and rainy (and indeed it was) we needed something to do indoors and inexpensive. I found the La Brea Tar Pits, having recalled it from all those years ago when I went during elementary school, and decided it would be perfect for the kids to see and something to do. Plus, as a huge bonus, it was really inexpensive to do - kids under 5 years old -FREE! Our entire family's admission, including parking, was $20.50. Really, in California that is a steal for entertainment. We had such a great time learning about all the bones, animals, and how the bones were perfectly preserved in tar. Yep, perfectly preserved in tar! A great educational experience and cheap entertainment, who could ask for more.

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We had such a great experience at the La Brea Tar Pits. We are truly blessed to be able to see the different creatures that once roamed this created Earth. To be able to study them, their habitats, and lives gives us a glimpse into the world that existed all those years ago. How wonderful that we can go back in time, through these skeletons, and learn more of some of Heavenly Father's creations.

I highly recommend going to the La Brea Tar Pits the next chance you get if you are going to be in California. It's an interesting place and has something for everyone. The LA County Museum of Art (LACMA) is right across the grassy area and is spectacular too. It's California, there's something for everyone, no matter where you are!

Week 7 - My Everything, My Love

I must have gotten to use to having Adam around this week. Afterall, it's been 10 whole days with him. WOW! I guess that's why tonight, when he leaves again for Kansas, it leaves me reflecting on just how grateful I am for him.

He truly is my Love and my everything. Sometimes people have asked me where I got his "pet name" Love from. I tell them it's because it reminds me that he is my one true love. It reminds me that no matter how mad I may get at him, he is the one I chose to be with and love the rest of my life and eternity. It is a reminder of something we do in this family, not just say or feel.

So, my dear Love, know that I am beyond words grateful for you and all you do for our little family. You are my everything and my Love, forever and eternity.

So not a great picture of me and the way I look, but it is the best one that conveys my gratitude for my Love.

Week 6 - A Forever Family

This weekend we spent in California visiting my parents. We had a lot of fun (more on that in a different post).

We decided to take the kids to the LA Temple, where Adam and I were married. We haven't been to that temple since the day we got married, almost 10 years ago. We would get busy and distracted doing other things and, frankly, never went that way to do any of the things we set out to do on the previous visits.

The story of that day, and how much we have grown since that day. We have definitely had our ups and downs and everything in between.

We've been together and we've been apart (more so in the most recent past than at any other point in our marriage), but through it all I've grown even more grateful for MY forever family. Seeing the three little kiddos run around on the grounds of the temple caused me to pause and give thanks, if only in my heart, for the knowledge that I have that I will never be without these little angels of mine, or my dear sweet hubby for that matter.

I am so grateful for my forever family that this week it was such a no brainer. How can I be more grateful for anything else?

Lover's Day

Do you have a lover? I certainly do! I love him to pieces. I love him so much, I even call him "Love".

What is love? Is it an emotion? A verb? A thing? An expression? What does it mean to be "in love"?

This is how wikipedia.com defined love, "Love is the emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection."

This is how I define love:

Are you "in love"? WE certainly are!

Week #5 - My Love

I've thoroughly enjoyed this last week. This week seemed so simple, yet it was crazy busy with runnings here, there, and everywhere. My Love worked from home on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. He left for Kansas on Sunday morning.

My Love does whatever he can to make life here at home the best it can be. He is the most wonderful father. He is patient with the kids. My Love has so many wonderful qualities about him that I could go on ad nauseum about him.

He reassures me often that I really am a good mom and, that despite my many shortcomings, I am making a difference in their lives, for the better. My Love is a wonderful provider who is willing to do what it takes to make ends meet and make sure there is food on the table.

I am grateful every hour of everyday for My Love but, this week, I am extra grateful for him. Maybe it has to do with Valentine's Day tomorrow? Regardless, I am grateful for My Love.

The Last of this First

There have been many firsts around our house. First baby, first steps, first teeth, first smiles, first haricuts.

I took Howie today for his first first today. It was his first haircut. I don't like cutting my boys' hair the first time. They lose the "baby look" and, as if it were magic, become little boys in the time it takes to cut their hair.

All of about 10 minutes.

The transformation is stunning. It, for me, is also saddening. I think I was a little more sad with Howie than I was with Owen. Perhaps it's because I know I will never have another first haircut. I know I will never have another little boy (or girl) to take to get their haircut for the first time. I know that, like it or not, I will never have another little baby.

(I love the motivation he's got in his mouth to sit still - he did really well - I have no doubt he would have even without the "motivation" but, let's just call it my "insurance policy")

I lavish in every ounce fo babyhood Howie is still willing to give me these days, which isn't much. Occasionally, he'll still let me rock him to sleep - especially on Sundays during church - but that isn't very often any more. Usually, he just wants to be down and moving, getting into this, that, and the other.

He's growing right before my very eyes, or so it seems. One day he is trying to figure out how to crawl and the next he's off and running down the hall away from me because he thinks it's a game.

Oh sure, there will be all kinds of other firsts for this family in the years to come. First baptism, first teeth lost, first driver's lisence, first heartbreak, first first grade. But, nothing will compare to seeing my littlest baby go from a baby to a little boy in a matter of blinks and a few snips of the hair.

Week #4 - Simple Thoughts

I have had a lot of time lately, in training for the half marathon, to be lost in my own thoughts. Sure, it started out as me wanting to get into better shape. But it has evolved over the last several months and, now, it's not about running or getting into shape. Instead, I find myself longing for the time that I get to run and be lost in my own thoughts. Trying to get outside of my head can sometimes lead me into the darkest corners inside my head.

That can be a scary place to be.

But, as I've been running, thinking, and trying to recall information I've been studying in school, I keep returning to the same simple thought....Heavenly Father knows ME!

He knows me. He knows my fears (and there are many), my weaknesses (still even more), what brings me the most joy, why I do the things I do, why I struggle and what makes me HIS daughter. I may not even understand why I do some of the things I do, but He does.

He allows me to struggle in hopes of me asking Him for help. He allows me to experience the lowest of lows, so that I can appreciate and savor the highest of highs.

This week accompanied many lows and even a few highs. Each new day that starts is a chance for me to have His Spirit with me and to live my life accordingly. I may not get it right on any given day (most often I don't, believe me), but He grants me the same chance day after day after day all in the hopes that I will remember my heritage and that I truly am a daughter of God, who loves me and I Him.

I am grateful for this simple thought that replays itself over and over in my head as I run my miles each day. Many days and often times it is that thought and not my music that keeps me running. How could I not be grateful for that?