I took this one the other day after some pretty good rain storms. Can you see the full rainbow arching across?
The kids are loving the park. They have ridden their bikes more in the last 4 days than they ever were able to before at the other house. Bones spent a day riding the loop with his training wheels on. They were so lopsided and catywampus and yet he still rode like a demon so I decided that it was time to test his luck without them. I took them off and was gearing up for the battle and drama of teaching a child to ride a bike. I went outside and was just going to give him a little trial test in the cul-de-sac before taking him down to the grassy hill in the park and before I could even get two hands on him to help steady him he had taken off and was racing around the cul-de-sac like he had been born on wheels. It was such a different experience from the girls I hardly knew what to think. He was cruising up and down curbs, racing right alongside Belle and couldn't keep from smiling and singing the Queen song, "We are the Champions".
He rode the loop at the park the next day and, not being quite as balanced as he thought and the trail being a little more narrow than he was used to, ended up running into the bushes a few times. That put a bit of a damper on his excitement for a while. I rode with him on the tagalong yesterday. We must have rode around that loop 50 times. At least my legs feel like we went 50 times. After that I told him that he had to do it by himself 3 times before I'd take him on the tagalong again. He tried it later that afternoon and when he was done he came into the house and said, "mom! You taught me how to ride around the loop! I didn't even run into any of the bushes!" So now I can officially say, that my little boy is a two-wheelin' demon. So ya'll better watch out!
Already, to celebrate his 6 months of life he has begun to sit up all by himself, hold a bottle all by himself, roll over front to back and back to front sometimes. He has 2 baby teeth on the bottom which he has had since about 4 months--way earlier than the other kids. He still smiles easily and loves to be tickled and nuzzled. He doesn't always sleep the night but usually he only wakes up once during the night. I guess it's about time to take steps to "help" him sleep the night but I'm not looking forward to that.
He has started eating solids and isn't quite sure whether he likes them or not. I typically ease pretty slowly into the food thing. He has been healthy and happy up until this Feb. when he got a real doozy of a cough/cold/bronchitis type thing. He seemed to respond to abx well and got a lot better but is now relapsing into a similar thing. Sad. He tends to get those nasty coughing spasms like I do. I can't seem to find just the right remedy and so we both suffer for what seems like forever. It is never quite fair when both mom and baby get sick at the same time. One or the other is manageable but when we are both sick, life seems somewhat miserable. Then again, when you look at such a cute little face with such kissable, adorable cheeks and such wide, all-knowing eyes and such a cute, button nose, you tend to forget all about anything except extra-sloppy smooches and pudgey, little fingers grasping yours.If I told you that "our song" happened to be "You aint nothin' but a Houndog" would you believe me? ---------lol------------jk-------------
I have three specific songs that have become special to us. When Big daddy and I were first dating---actually after we had been dating for quite a while, and were just starting to get serious, he gave me a poem with the words of this song written on it. At the time, I thought that he had actually written it and was quite impressed. Come to think of it--that might even have been the first hint of "love". It was only later that I found out that he wasn't the original author. When I realized that he really did feel the words, I knew he had at least one quality of what it took to be a really great husband. Romance/Tenderness
The second song combines three of our lifetime favorites: Our love for all things Italian, our favorite romantic comedy movie, and of course Dean Martin. Italy is one of our favorite places to visit. You could go back over and over again and never get tired of it. The FOOD, the history, the architecture, the people, the FOOD, the art! Did I mention the FOOD! If you have never seen this movie starring Minnie Driver and David Duchovny you absolutely have to rent it. It is one of those movies that we never get tired of. It tugs all of the heart strings while allowing you to laugh in all of the right places. The whole cast is amazing and the soundtrack is one of the best ever. Which brings us to Dean Martin. What can you say about Dean Martin--smooth, smooth, smooth! Combine these three things and you have a great romantic night together.
This last song is all about FAMILY to me. Every morning we get up and read scriptures together. We always start off with a song and then a prayer and then we read. Each person in the family has a day of the week that they get to choose the song and then they say the prayer for that morning. Everyone varies their song choice from week to week except my husband. His favorite song has always been this song and it has significant personal meaning to him. It seems to help us keep life in perspective. So, every Friday this is what we sing together in the morning, followed by a couple rounds of the "Thankful game." Each one of the kids knows it by heart and it is sung with such gusto that I can't help smiling each and every time that we sing it. This particular version made me smile as well. Hope it brings a smile to your day as well.
I've finally decided to "retire" our stash of towels. I received most of these as wedding gifts 17 years ago. A few of them came from a really great garage sale and we have purchased an occasional odds and end. They have never matched anything we own.We have dried our bodies, dried the dog, mopped up puke, washed the cars, cleaned up mud, soaked up spilled Orange Juice, etc. etc. etc.
They have lived a good life and served their purpose well but now it is time for a change! I have always wanted a FULL set of towels. All the same color--all thick and deliciously soft without even the hint of a hole in it. I have never been able to justify the expense of doing them all at the same time and so I just kept piecemealling it. I am however, blessed with a great and inciteful sister-in-law who took pity on me at Christmastime and bought us a full set of towels---all in my favorite burgundy color. I love them. It is so nice to be able to dry off without pieces of terry cloth dangling down your back and your toes poking through the holes. I feel very luxurious being able to use a "whole" towel instead of a "holey" towel. I should have done this sooner.
...and just so that I feel like I'm living up to the counsel of Pres. Packer---I'll still use those old towels to dry the dog, mop up the puke, wash the car and soak up the spills. As long as I get to keep using my brand new, gorgeous ones to dry my body.
I find that for me there are three key factors that help me to foster a successful, happy marriage. The first key is TRUST. I could not be happy in a marriage without fully trusting my husband. I trust that he will keep his sacred covenants to me. I trust that he will provide for our family. I trust that he will honor his priesthood covenants to Heavenly Father. I also trust him to never hurt me deliberately. It goes without saying then that I too, must be trustworthy. I must hold the trust that he places in me as most sacred and not to be squandered. Christie H. Frandsen said, “Trust is as central to a happy marriage as faith is to a testimony. If trust is strong and secure, the marriage can grow and flourish despite difficulties and crises. But if trust is weak or erratic, then the marriage will crumble under the pressures of daily life.”