It keeps going, and going, and going...

So, the first thing that happened this week was this--

First I thought it was a spider bite, then it got blisters and was tender so I thought I'd gotten a burn somehow without realizing it. Then it spread farther and the blisters turned into more smaller blisters, and I thought maybe it really is a spider bite. That's when I got onto the internet and looked up information and pictures of spider bites; and, yes, that's what it was. The pictures above are on day 5, when it was already beginning to heal. If I would have realized what it actually was earlier, when it looked really bad, I would have probably panicked and gone to the doctor. Sometimes it pays to be ignorant. At least it saved me a co-pay.

We've been working really hard to get our house done. I wanted to finish by the end of the weekend--we're still a ways away from completing everything. Oh, well. We'll just keep trudging on...

Since we don't have a sink in Damon's bathroom right now and our hot water's not currently accessible in the master bath sink, Damon's been stealing our big stool to wash his hands at the kitchen sink. I'm constantly either tripping over while I'm cooking or looking for it when I need to do a project. I can't wait till order returns to our house. Then again, perhaps there was never order in the first place.

Ashton has about had it with us neglecting him (not really, but you'd think so with the way he carries on when we put him down on the floor or in his jumper). So, he got to help daddy paint, if you can consider it helping. He spent most the time trying to get a hold of the brush. Knowing him, I'm sure he wanted to taste-test it. What a cutie-petutie.

This is a nightly ritual. After family prayer, Adam tucks Damon in and reads him a story. Right now they're working on a graphic novel about Robin Hood. Occasionally, when he's not ornery at bed-time, Ashton joins them for the story. He's not quite ready to pay attention, but we'll keep workin' on him. :)

We're in Trouble!!!!!

Alright everybody, take a real good look at this, because this is the face of Trouble-And I mean TROUBLE!

He's widdling his way into cubby holes, finding chords in impossible places and trying to eat them, pulling apart my new decorative plants, and moving long distances in incredibly short amounts of time. One second he's laying in front of the entertainment cupboard, the next he's practically down the hall. Help Me!

He's getting so excited about life. You can see it in the way his face lights up when he smiles. I just love it, especially when he lights up because he sees me. I'm a lucky momma. Although, the following pictures are pretty good examples of my life lately.

Over-cooked, frazzled, and bursting at the seems, but still mostly contained. I've got a hundred ingredients fighting for attention in my life and I'm doing my best to keep it all under control.

Needless to say, my first attempt at baking an Angel Food Cake didn't go so well. Maybe the fact that the mix expired in April of '06 had something to do with it. Note to self: pay attention to the expiration dates of food I try to feed my family. All the box requires is to add water. That's it, and I still managed to completely botch it. Oh, well, it's just a good thing that the store is only one minute away, and Adam is a super fast go-to guy.

I just keep reminding myself, it all ends up alright in the end, if not exactly how we planned. Life really is good to us, and I'm grateful for all the happiness.

Hand to Mouth...

Okay, finances may get a little tight at times, but Ashton's taking the term "hand to mouth" to a whole new level. For him it's literal. He picks up an items, studies it for a second, then promptly gives it a taste-test as if that will give him a better idea of what it is. It's so fun to watch him watching the world around him. He doesn't just look, he studies the people, the objects, everything; and, I can practically see his observations processing in his mind. I love seeing him try to use his fine motor skills. Sometimes I'll put little pieces of food on his tray and watch him try to pinch it between his pointer finger and thumb. Mostly, he just pushes it away in his attempts or, if he gets lucky and manages to pick it up, loses it before it's even half-way to his mouth. Of course, when he's down on the floor, he is miraculously able to pinch lint and put it to his mouth with no problems at all. How does that always happen--they always want or find what they shouldn't have.

Last week in sacrement meeting, he was interested in a woman sitting behind us. He kept looking over my shoulder at her and flashing his biggest smile, then he'd duck down and play with a toy a minute and then look back over my should and smile at her again. At one point, she got up and left the chapel. Ashton watched her the whole way and even kept looking a the door seemingly waiting fore her to return. It was so cute, hardly anyone can keep from smiling at him when they make eye-contact.

He's also practicing his gross motor skills. His knew favorite past-time is playing on the floor. He hasn't figured out crawling or even the army crawl, yet. Instead he just puts his arms forward and pulls himself forward with his brute strength and an occasional grunt. I'm still cringing at the thought of baby-proofing. There is just so much to do and I feel so little time. Everyday he seems to get into something else I didn't think was problem or even a temptation.

My parents came down yesterday. They ate chilli and spent the afternoon with us. I'm sad to think a quick visit won't be a possibility come next weekend. They finally sold (or presold, since it's just on lease until the new residence sell their own home) their house, and now they're moving to Northern Utah (Huntsville) for a while. It's a little sad, but we won't be here too much longer anyway. It's funny how my whole family has returned to Northern Utah and I'm the only left with a link to St. George. It's always bittersweet to grow up and build your own family. Home developes a new definition. It's no longer the house we grew up in, or where mom and dad are, it's not even where the heart is. I'm learning that home is a place where you feel safe, have a purpose, and where you're life is shared with those you couldn't live without. My heart will always be with my parents and siblings and I'll always want to be near them; but, the greatest part of me will always want to be with Adam and our children as they grow to be men. Wherever we can thrive in all the facets of life, that's where we need to be. I hope we will never be too far from our loved ones, but I also hope we will alow the road to take us wherever we will find the greatest possibilities for our stability, growth and happiness. However, I also realize that as long as we are together, we can make wherever we are HOME.  

thinking sunny thoughts

...and I thought we would get a taste of Spring!

Monday's weather was sunny, clear, and there was no evidence of snow anywhere. I was excited, thinking that maybe it would be warm enough this weekend to paint the trim on my house and put up the picket fence in the front. On Tuesday morning, we stepped out the door into a couple inches of snow. Darn! 4 hours later, when I went to pick up Damon, we had 13+ inches, the snow touching the doors of all the cars and I thought, "Oh, boy, I hope I don't get stuck." So, I backed up into some fresh truck tracks, all the while thankful that I could just get out of the driveway, and then promptly got stuck right in the middle of the road. I jumped out, scraped the road around my tires, and crossed my fingers as I slowly made my way forward and toward the main road which had already been plowed. I miraculously made it to and from Headstart with no major incidents.

Then, on Tuesday, Adam and I entertained at a High Priest dinner. We had three weeks to prepare, but I kept forgetting and we didn't actually get things together until Sunday, oops. I wasn't too woried, because we were supposed to perform while they ate; and, my experience with performing during a dinner is that the people never actually pay attention to you. That is way I really don't like performing during meals. Well, the room went dead silent the moment we got up to sing and every eye seemed to bore right into us. Definitely not what I expected. Thankfully, we just decided to sing a bunch of church songs since it was a spiritual meeting. Since we've had the opportunity to learn many special arrangements for hymns and LDS songs over the past few years, we still sounded like we knew what we were doing. I even faced my fears and accompanied Adam on a couple songs--a very first for me--I'm afraid of playing in public. I'm proud of myself, I did surprisingly okay. Although, I'm not sure I'll be ready to do it again any time soon.

Ashton's making way around, eventhough he's still not crawling. I keep telling him he can take his time. Not only is he growing too big too fast, I'm not even close to baby proofing. I'm hoping to be done fixing up the house soon so we can get all the litttle nick-knacks and tools put away and out of reach of his little busy baby fingers. I seem to be constantly telling myself to hurry. It's just a matter of time (and not much of that) before he is on all fours wreeking havoc. Heaven help us! I can only handle so much at once. Besides, once that happens, he won't be my sweet little baby anymore. He'll be my sweet little toddler--I'm not sure if I ready for that.