a mango a day

2012-02-03T23:13:00.004-06:00

I cried when I read this. Cried because even though the logistics of changing a diaper and knowing how to clean up a crib full of throw-up like what greeted me this morning, are much easier than when I was new to it all, the emotional adjustment that accompanies a complete change in one's identity is still ongoing for me. There are days when I long to feel that feigned importance of having classes to attend and a job to report to. When, simply put, everything in my life revolved around...me. And since "me" is not a very high maintenance person, not much energy was expended in keeping care of myself :) I could slide by with grocery shopping maybe a couple times a month, and live off oatmeal and peanut butter. I could put off doing laundry for as long as I dared. I could be with myself and my own thoughts without being interrupted. Yes, I know that you're probably thinking that not much has changed. And that is part of the problem, I will admit.

But what has changed is the presence of JPEG in my life. Oh how I love them. And maybe that is the other reason why I cried. Because try as I might to take mental photographs of every little moment that fills me with wonder, I know these days are fleeting. That Phineas will soon be running instead of displaying his tentative bow-legged waddle. That Ellie will soon be proficient at pronouncing "tr" instead of substituting the sound with an "f" (although, that will be less of a shock to my ears when she relentlessly yells at me to look at the "truck"). And that Gracie will not constantly be at my side gifting complements to every stranger she sees; the very compliments that I think of but have lost the child-like purity and fearlessness to voice. And even our days of living on love, with absolutely no money, might one day be a thing of the past.

And so the next time I bemoan to Jacob that my youthfulness and prime of life is wasting away in this basement apartment of ours, I will stop. Because when I am completely honest with myself, I know now that I really didn't have anything of huge importance to do before all this. I think I thought I did. And it was easy to convince myself that I was good at whatever I was doing. But now I'm engulfed in the real thing. I am not just pretending to be someone important anymore. And sometimes this scares me. But most of the time it has me laughing, crying, teaching, playing, sometimes cleaning, but mostly loving.

A little frustration with my alma mater

2012-01-13T23:30:00.004-06:00

This morning I debated whether or not to drive south to BYU, or “Bye-Yoo” as Ellie has dubbed it. After Jacob’s clarification that the 30 day grace period to renew our vehicle’s registration was up at the end of December, and not at the end of Januray as I had thought, I felt like this knowledge would somehow jinx me and I would get pulled over. I had unknowingly been driving around illegally for half a month with no problem, but it’s interesting how our perspective always changes when innocence is lost. Since I had already promised the girls a fun excursion with the cousins, I felt like I had no choice but to risk driving with expired stickers.

I pulled into the visitor’s parking lot with, characteristically, not a moment to spare. The girls were prepped and ready with the instructions “okay, the second I park the car, unbuckle, get out the car, and then we run, and I mean run to the Planetarium to make the star show!” Everything was going great until I hopped out of the car and nearly ran into the campus police officer who, for a split second, I had considered not parking right in front of. But assuming that my registration stickers were of no concern to a University, I had decided to take advantage of the great parking spot that would shorten our run by a few hundred yards.

Oh how I’ve missed BYU policemen. Next to providing a wonderful “police beat” reading each week in the university paper, they always make sure that no infraction too small goes unnoticed. But once again, I reiterate, why should a campus police officer be concerned with my registration? But I’m so glad that I gave him a sense of purpose today and that he was able to issue me a fun “fix-it-ticket” (looks like they’ve been implementing some creative citation options since last time I spoke with them) where I have two weeks to get my problem fixed with only a small fine. And he delayed me by that moment that I did not have to spare, and hence we missed the much-anticipated star gazing show.

But looking on the bright side, I won’t feel guilty this year for not donating to my alma mater. I’ll count this as my contribution.

a few firsts

2011-12-14T23:00:00.001-06:00

One year ago today...

Was the first time I discovered that my baby was breech.

It was the first time that I had ever been wheeled into a cool, sterile, florescent-lit operating room. Surreal to say the least.

It was the first time that I had ever received a cut more than a half inch long or just a little more than skin deep.

But then, oh then, the first time I saw His face. It suddenly seemed as though it wasn't the first time. He looks so very familiar. This was my first thought.

And that thought sustained me through the many more painful firsts. The first time standing up on my own without pain killers. I thought for sure there were 1000 needles stabbing and burning me. Oh, I guess it was just the 1000 staples holding together layers of flesh. No big deal. In short, my first time healing from a c-section, wondering if I would ever be normal again.

But all of these firsts for me pale in comparison to a first year of life for a spirit child of His who finally has the chance to obtain a mortal body. How momentous and significant for my little Phin. And in case you didn't know, he is our first son.

wrestlers and looters

2011-11-11T19:18:00.008-06:00

I cleaned out the car this morning. My hands were freezing, and therefore it took a while to unpack the half of my house that had found its way into our vehicle. I’m not sure how so much stuff accumulates in there, but strangely, I find that I miss it after it’s all gone. I have become accustomed to being able to rummage through the odds and ends and find whatever I need when I’m out and about. Kind of like when I clean out my purse; when it’s in its normal state, I’m bound to find a pen when needed. But a clean, empty purse always fails me.

The girls play some wrestling game on the trampoline while I throw out all of their backseat garbage. I’m never sure when to step in and stop activities such as throwing each other around and sitting on top of each other all while laughing and giggling. Because we all know that it starts out innocently…and then the attached scarf somehow gets ripped off of the coat. There is momentary sadness, but then the freed scarf opens up a whole new world of possible trampoline games. I don’t have the heart to scold and warn when the two of them are actually getting along and having a grand old time. And now that we’re inside and our noses and fingers are returning to their normal color, they think I don’t know that they’ve stolen the Halloween bag to pillage its contents under their bed. To be 4 years old again, and never have to give a thought to cluttered cars or ill-fitting clothes. I might as well let them enjoy it while they can.

no more country roads

2011-11-09T20:40:00.006-06:00

This morning I woke up determined to get out of the house. Well, I guess that’s not entirely accurate. First I woke up determined to slide out of bed without waking Gracie’s warm little body that had crawled into bed with me shortly after His big warm body had crawled out of bed in the wee hours of the morning.

Two hours later after a few minor meltdowns over applesauce in the oatmeal instead of the standard milk, we made it out the door. The cold does something to my soul, and I am determined to battle it this winter by exposing myself to sunshine and civilization at least once a day, with my three amigos in tow.

I deemed today IKEA Tuesday because children eat free on Tuesday. Add that to the genius of IKEA’s “smaland” and you have the perfect combination. Our isolated basement is pretty close to IKEA, so when I have no food in the fridge, it’s a lot easier to go to IKEA than to the grocery store for nourishment.

We had our daily allotment of Jacob time for a short 20 minutes or so. Perched on the bathroom counter, Ellie observed his daily afternoon shave while I ironed some crisp new lines in the sleeves of his white shirt. I then proudly presented my crock-pot chicken sandwich to this handsome husband of mine. Proudly, because I so often fail in this simple domesticated task. We all miss Jacob’s cooking, almost as much as his absence in the evenings. After tying on his apron, which Ellie deems his “skirt” as she scrunches up her nose in disgust, we bid Him goodbye and saw Him out the door. I hate to see him leave again so soon. But such is the life of a family who must make two house payments.

I am trying to embrace this new phase of single parenthood that has graced my life since the onset of Jacob’s second job. I often find myself thinking, “hmm, I’m betting that this new perspective will serve me well at some point down the road.” There’s something about being the one and only to wake up with three little people under the age of 4 and spend every second of the day with them until they are tucked into bed at night. Hence, the new phase of this blog where I will find sanity and joy through documenting these days. I think writing has a way of forcing one to see the beauty and sweetness in the otherwise mundane happenings of the day. In the writing of it one must articulate and acknowledge the details of life that we too soon forget. Kind of like a mango: I forget what an amazing experience it is to eat that fruit of all fruits until I force myself to just pay the dollar for one, carefully carve it open, and take that first bite. Really, it fills me with an almost tangible joy. Sigh. If only I had more dollars to spend on such an experience. We’ll hope that writing does it for me J

tuesday

2010-02-17T01:40:00.005-06:00

So, I've been thinking a lot about The Fountainhead. It is my new favorite book. I just wish I had read the book 10 years ago so that Grandma and I could discuss it. But Jacob and Katie make for good conversation, so that will have to do for now.

Speaking of Jake the great, he's probably fallen asleep on his knees downstairs on the bed. He has a tendency of doing that. It's very endearing. But such is the life of a school teacher who waits up for me to come home from hair school, just so he can warm up my dinner that he's cooked and then tell me funny stories of the children that he babysits all day, both at school and at home :). And to discuss The Fountainhead with me to my hearts content, and then to finally get ready for bed and say his prayers after a very long day. You can't blame him for falling asleep sometimes.

Really, I'm just so in love with the above mentioned boy.

Not to mention Gracie and Ellie. I missed them today. I missed my surprisingly deep conversations with Gracie. I missed Ellie taking off her diaper and running around in pure delight as I chase after her trying to pin her down long enough to velcro on another diaper before the air on her little bottom causes problems.

And my final thought: I love to cut hair. I love to cut off dead ends, and create a new, beautiful shape. I love fresh, new starts. Maybe that's why I love haircuts. Good night!

4 years

2010-01-02T22:32:00.002-06:00

"Was there ever a man who truly loved a woman, or a woman who truly loved a man, who did not pray that their relationship might continue beyond the grave? Has a child ever been buried by parents who did not long for the assurance that their loved one would again be theirs in a world to come? Can anyone believing in eternal life doubt that the God of heaven would grant his sons and daughters that most precious attribute of life, the love that finds its most meaningful expression in family relationships? No, reason demands that the family relationship shall continue after death. The human heart longs for it. The God of heaven has revealed a way whereby it may be secured. The sacred ordinances of the house of the Lord provide for it. . . "

~Gordon B. Hinckley

I hope to be able to go snowshoeing again on our 57th anniversary, and maybe even again on our 200th anniversary if I'm up for it :)

we're electric...

2009-11-01T01:29:00.002-05:00

I hope nobody refers to last year's Halloween post to find that we were pretty much the same thing, but why not recycle a cheap, easy costume? We did make a few improvements this year, and added a new, modern light socket in the form of Ellie to our group theme.

If you'll notice, Jake's lamp shade is new and improved with a cut-out vision enhancer.

Gracie is a 70's light socket and Ellie is a bit newer.

Notice the electric shocked hair? We go to a lot of effort in the hair and makeup department. Actually, I think Ellie ended up looking like some character from "The Incredibles"

Two lamps in love.

And here they are in their rightful place: a wall.

poor little Ellie

2009-08-14T22:52:00.003-05:00

Having been "the little sister" my whole life, I have great empathy for Ellie when things like this happen...

The proud stacker...

a little Penske ride

2009-08-01T00:27:00.006-05:00

Wow. Hi. I'm back--literally I guess. I'm back in Utah. As is evidenced by the pictures below, we packed up our life in Tennessee and headed back West. I am a little sorry that I didn't stay in TN long enough to really get my southern drawl down. I thought I'd come home to Utah and pick up right where I had left off, but I found that my experience down south left me with new eyes and a new perspective. Suddenly Utah looked much more drab than I had remembered it, and the perfectly straight roads didn't hold quite the appeal that I thought they would. Of course, this was to be expected. I never realize that I'll miss something until I suddenly don't have it anymore.

gotta love the Penske truck, everything from the color to the fact that supposedly they give all of their old, worn out trucks to U-Haul and keep the best for us :)

Goodbye to our first and probably last (for a while at least) home :(( So much for that nice little $7500 tax rebate that we now have to pay back.

You just can't beat a 26 hour diesel truck ride with a 2 year old.

But for a brief 3 days we got to join the ranks of diesel truck drivers. We got to drive where they drive and fill up where they fill up. It was an honor.

So, you ask, what brought us back to Utah? This amazing wedding cake. No, not really, but the amazing wedding couple--Julie and Oliver did.

Needless to say, Gracie and Hailey had a great reunion.

And let me just say that I have yet to see a wedding as original as Julie's--an ice cream bar. It was divine.

No, we are not at a funeral. Just kidding, Julie, I loved the black dresses.

Hmmm, looks like something's going on here. It could be that Gracie's just dancing, or maybe this was the time that they had a little fun in the fountain.

And perhaps the most notable thing that happened after the big move was Ellie's first step. She's now a veteran walker and waddles all over the place.

So, besides Julie's wedding, Utah is the choice of residence for the next few years so that I can get my cosmetology license. There's no place like Utah to learn the art of A-line hair cuts and partial head weaves :) So if you're looking for a hair cut of a life time, just call the school 373-CUTS (Renaissance Hair Academie in Provo) and make an appointment with me.

Alright, so I guess the next step is coming up with a new title for this blog thing. I bet you're all really excited to see what I come up with . . .

a very long post

2009-04-25T14:41:00.003-05:00

First of all, this weekend marks a year since I lost my status of a college student. I do miss it sometimes--not to be able to use the excuse of "too much homework" as for why I don't do the laundry. I've been considering all that has happened since this momentous day, and thought I'd share a few of the highlights...

1) Not too long after graduation, we moved to Tennessee. Even though I have a degree in sociology, nothing could have quite prepared me for the culture that I have encountered here in the south. It is intriguing and endearing to me, but I'm not sure I'll ever be able to fully embrace it. Try as I might, I just don't think I'll ever master the local ho down shuffle :). Let that all inspire you to come visit and see just what that is for yourself.

2) A few months after graduating, I had girl #2. I can't believe Ellie is almost a year old. Being one who thinks sisters are an absolute necessity in life, I couldn't be happier that Gracie has a sister. I could sit for hours and observe their interactions and witness the beginnings of a great friendship developing. But of course I can't do that because at this point I'm always pulling Gracie off of Ellie, changing one or more diapers, or trying to interpret cries and toddler language.

3) I have definitely lost more hair than I have weight postpartum ;) But the hair is almost all back, and even getting past the fuzzy, stand-up-straight phase, which makes such a subtle but oh-so-significant difference in the appearance of my hair. Seriously, if only my body could shed the weight like it did the hair :)

4) It's been rather strange to be completely school-free for the first time in my life. I find that I don't quite know what I like to do in my free time. I can't say that I've ever been too pro-active about learning because school has always given me a reason to read and has made it easy to expand my mind. So I figure I've taken a good year-long break from all of that and in order to prevent my brain from going to mush, here's to a new year of learning and developing new talents! Maybe I'll come up with some new gadget to post on this blog thing to keep you all updated on my endeavors!

4) We no longer live with cinder block walls. We have upgraded to nicely painted, smooth walls. But you know, sometimes I miss the cinder block walls because you didn't waste so much energy trying to make them pretty. It was a lost cause to try to spruce up a 50 year old apartment too much, so you did what you could, then went on with your life. But I feel like home ownership brings with it this obligation to decorate and clean, and decorate some more. Ahhh, it really can become so stressful and time-consuming to the non-creative, undeceive type like me. So here is to being happy with the current state of my home, and being content with a yellow wall instead of a cinder block wall, and then getting on with my life.

I hope you thoroughly enjoyed all of that wisdom from a college graduate. Allright, now for some more pictures to make up what I'm sure is one of my longest posts yet.

I've got to prove to everyone that I'm a fun mother by posting a picture of Gracie with Easter bunny :).

We then spent the weekend enjoying a mock-camping trip where we built a fire in Jake's parents backyard, went fishing the next day, and even managed to dye some eggs while we were at it.

These next few pictures demonstrate an ongoing activity around here--mowing the lawn. I don't know if it's such a good idea to have almost an acre of land when you don't have a riding lawn mower. It took hours, spanned over a few weeks to mow all of the lawn. So by the time we finish, it rains for a couple of days and it looks like we haven't even mowed at all. But my theory is the longer the grass gets, the more satisfying it is to cut it.

Ellie is especially a good sport to sit in her stroller for hours and watch us mow the lawn.

Gracie's first picnic outside. She loved it.

And of course, Happy Earth Day to everyone. Hah, last weekend we went to an Earth Day festival in Nashville. It was quite entertaining to mingle with so many earthy, tree-hugging type people. Practically everyone brought along their dogs, but we decided to bring our children instead :)

I'm not quite sure how funnel cake made its way into an organic, all natural, earth friendly fair, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It was actually my first, and surely not my last experience with it. mmmmmmm.

And if you'll look closely, you'll notice Ellie's black cheek. That's right, not a black-eye, a black cheek. It's pretty unique. She fell off a chair (as a matter of fact, the very chair she's sitting on in the picture).

the solution to all of my problems

2009-04-14T14:46:00.003-05:00

Okay, so we decided to not go through with the purchase of the sweet orange van, but I am seriously considering purchasing this gadget:

The Key to Waking Up Refreshed
Why is it so hard to wake up to a normal alarm clock? Because a normal alarm clock can't detect where you are in your sleep cycle - a continuous cycle from deep sleep, to brief almost-awake moments, and back to deep sleep again. Occasionally, your alarm may catch you at an optimal, almost-awake moment and you wake up feeling refreshed, but usually you grope for the snooze button waking up tired and groggy.

Wake at Your Perfect Time
SLEEPTRACKER^® puts an end to that tired feeling. Once you set its alarm window, it monitors your body and continuously looks for your optimal waking times so it can wake you at just the right moment. Imagine not feeling tired in the morning and getting a few extra minutes out of your day.

introducing...

2009-03-05T21:51:00.002-06:00

So, what do you all think of our new van?

recent happenings...

2009-03-01T11:50:00.008-06:00

Well I have bit more time today because church was cancelled this morning. Yeah, not only do they cancel school at the drop of a snowflake, but church also. The only reason why I was excited was because it meant that I didn't have to go through the inevitable frustration and stress of trying to get Gracie, Ellie and myself to church on TIME, which is something that I am still trying to figure out how to accomplish on my own since Jacob is always gone early to meetings. But in case any of you are starting to get a little jealous, my stalwart husband just suggested that we attend the Fairview Branch this afternoon.

Gracie and Ellie making the most of their Sunday morning. Probably the only time in their life when church will be cancelled!

And here you see that we had a visitor! Katie showed up on our doorstep the day before Valentine's Day. Next to Jacob proposing to me, this tops of the list of shocking moments in my life. It was as if distance was suddenly obsolete, and she was just stopping by to say hi. She came just in time to babysit so that Jacob and I could go to the local ho-down (literally.) The culture here is so interesting to me, and if you want some good enteretainment, just stop by a local country dancing venue--it's hillarious. But that's a whole different subject--well not entirely, because that morning we took Katie to Hickman county's very own weekly radio show where there is good music and even better southern accents.

Pretty much, Katie took over all of the domestic duties. It was great. She cooked, cleaned, and baby-sat.

Of course Gracie and Ellie never wanted to be far from the special visitor.

It was pretty much the funnest week that I've had in a long time. There's nothing like a visitor to justify yummy food, special outings, and late-night talks! If anyone else wants to show up on my doorstep, you're more than welcome!

Now for a few more pictures of Gracie and Ellie's latest tricks and activities...

This is Ellie being a little bird. Whenever we put something in our mouth, she has this cute little way of opening her mouth and trying to get a taste. Here she has succeeded in getting a lick of the pretzel.

Jacob's eagle scout skills came in handy. He was able to to construct a horse and cart-type scenario, which entertained Gracie and Ellie for a record amount of time before either one of them starting crying.

Sometimes Gracie acts so silly. I really don't know where she comes up with some of her faces, or her hair for that matter (hmmm, maybe she gets it from Jacob). She also has a great sense of style, as you can tell from the inside-out shirt.

Ellie, though, still just smiles sweetly for the camera.

This is our friend Becky who got baptized last week! She's been investigating the church for about 9 months, and suddenly last Monday we got a call that she had decided to get baptized that night! It was so exciting, and it always puts things into perspective when somebody gets baptized.

I told you, Gracie has some great poses for the camera. Especially after she dresses up in Ellie's clothes.

And finally, who can resist cuddly babies in fuzzy footies?

a valentines tag...

2009-02-10T10:44:00.012-06:00

Danyette, I consider myself tagged!

Valentines Tag

Answer the questions about your sweetheart…

*What is your husband’s name? Jacob Eason Griffin
*How long have you been married? 3 years, 1 month, 12 days
*How long did you date? This is a difficult question, since Jake and I had different definitions of dating :). But let's just say that we got married 11 months after we met.
*How old is he? 25 years young
*Who eats more sweets? Considering the fact that Jacob doesn't really like chocolate, but I love it, it's probably easy to guess. But Jacob does like his blond brownies.
*Who said I love you first? I for sure thought it first, but not wanting to scare him off I waited for a long time until he said it. It was after we had run 5 miles together, and had I known that that would have gotten it out of him, I would have begrudgingly done it sooner :)
*Who is taller? Thank goodness Jacob is.
*Who can sing best? Jacob can definitely sing louder. We both sing our respective parts best.

*Who does laundry? Usually I do.

*Who pays bills? I do.

*Who sleeps on the right side? Jacob
*Who mows the lawn? This is yet to be determined.
*Who cooks dinner? Usually Jake cooks and I clean up. Yes, it is a beautiful set-up.
*Who drives? Usually Jacob. And as long as we have a low-riding buick that's the way I prefer it.
*Who is first to admit they are wrong? we never fight.
*Who kissed who first? Surprisingly, he did.
*Who asked who out first? Again, this is hard to determine. But I'll give credit to Jacob for calling me to play tennis every week.
*Who wears the pants? If this means that Jacob is the better person and would do anything I ever asked of him, than I guess it means that I could. But I try not to take advantage of his kindness :) so we are equal.

I tag whoever reads this!

that's some crazy hair

2009-01-31T13:51:00.002-06:00

Okay, I stumbled across these pictures and I just had to post them. I burst out laughing. This is how hot and humid it is in Tennessee. This was last summer after Gracie (or should I say little Jacob) woke up from one of her naps. Now I don't think that's sweat all over her shirt, but it might as well be. I'm thinking maybe her bottle leaked all over her. Needless to say, the humidity really brought out the wildness in Gracie's hair. Happy weekend!

yizards and more

2009-01-29T21:44:00.007-06:00

hmmmm, where to start. Here are a few pictures from the past couple of weeks. The first are from the usual Sunday photo shoot--you know, the cutest day of the week (at least for Ellie. Gracie takes out her hair and changes back into her favorite, too-small polka dot shirt first thing after church.)

This picture just makes me laugh.

Gracie is currently on a "yizard" kick. She insists that her yizards be placed in her crib with her each night. It's great when your child really loves wal-mart dollar specials.

This is significant--Gracie lets me put pigtails in her hair these days!

Gracie loves to help feed Ellie, and I think Ellie loves it too.

And watch out Ms. Stewart. Jake has been cooking a lot lately, and every single meal is my new favorite. He is so creative--never uses a recipe. He much prefers to cook and I much prefer to clean up, so it works out just dandy.

And I'm really not kidding, Martha. Jake just finished building us some floating display shelves. I know, you probably thought we got these from Pottery Barn, but Jake actually constructed them from a hollow door. I'm pretty excited because I'm sure the value of our home is now significantly higher :)

And just in case you all were worried that I'm not developing any domestic skills, here is a pillow that took me way too long to make. Martha has no competition here.

I wonder what she's thinking when she gets this look on her face.

And finally we have Jacob and Gracie cheering on Ellie as she attempts to crawl. That cute little leg just always gets in the way!

So there you have it. Oh, school was cancelled again yesterday due to some light snow. So we made our first official car shopping trip. It was somewhat humorous to be the recipient of so many sales tactics, and I thoroughly enjoyed not caving in to any of them.

suddenly I don't mind the cold

2009-01-15T22:00:00.004-06:00

I am so excited at the moment. We just received the good news that....Jake's school is cancelled tomorrow because of some cold weather. That's right--because it's cold!!! I guess people around here aren't used to ten degree weather. Ahh, the joys of living in Tennessee. So that makes one long 4 day weekend for us because Monday is Martin Luther King's Day. Not that we have any money to do anything too exciting with all this time--but who needs money when you're livin' on love? Happy weekend!

competition

2009-01-13T22:37:00.003-06:00

I used to think that the west offered the best sunsets, but this one might just be the best one yet. Okay, so my $50 camera doesn't quite capture the breath-taking colors, but you'll just have to trust me. Oh, and another great thing about this place is that the dusting of snow that you see on the ground caused school to be delayed for two hours the next morning. I laugh every time I think about it.

HPIM2379.JPG

26 hours later

2009-01-08T22:12:00.002-06:00

So in case ya'll (that's right, I now live in Tennessee, so I have the right to use that word) were wondering where I've been, I thought I'd share a few pictures from the past month, since pictures are often so much better than words, at least in my case :)

This is some of my great photography capturing the excitement in the car before we started on our 26 hour drive to Utah for the holidays.

Hailey and Gracie were so happy to be reunited again. They played more than ever this time--they were always chasing each other around and giggling about something.

Here's Dad in his usual spot on Christmas morning. It was so great to see mom and dad and everyone else. aaah, that's the hardest part about living in TN--not getting to see any of my family. It doesn't matter how much you talk on the phone or e-mail or blog or anything like that, it's never quite the same as witnessing, in person, familiar mannerisms and idiosyncrasies that are so endearing.

Gracie was surprisingly restrained when it came to opening presents. She understood when and when not it was her turn to tear off the paper.

We got this green recorder for Gracie for the road trip out to UT (yeah, we thought twice before we actually opened it in the car). It ended up being one of her Christmas gifts, and Dad was more than happy to recruit another wind-instrument player.

Yes, Ellie can almost fit her whole fist into that mouth.

Oh boy, this looks familiar.

But most of the time Gracie is a little angel, as evidenced by the halo that you can see above her head in this picture. wait, I guess that's just our really advanced camera. So, moving past Christmas, next is Kurt and Heidi's wedding--the main reason why we sacrificed 26 hours of comfort and ease to get to Utah. Now don't get confused, Kurt and I did not get married (eeek). But it does catch me off guard at times; on a few occasions I got momentarily excited when I saw envelopes and presents that were addressed to "Kurt and Heidi". But I quickly remembered that I was not the intended recipient of checks, gift cards, and fine kitchen coookware. Oh, but how I wish I was..

Kurt and Heidi's reception was at Abravanel Hall, just in case you didn't recognize the flaming orange sea-creature type statue in the back ground. That thing is worth millions of dollars, so Katie and Julie had the fine opportunity of guarding the thing throughout the night. Although, let's be honest, they were kind of slackers :). But considering that my children were probably the ones that they were supposed to be guarding it from, I won't give them a hard time about it. But the thing made for great pictures, and it was a beautiful reception.

Here's Jake sliding down the banister. He's lucky nobody was guarding it.

Doesn't Katie have beautiful hair?

I just have to thank Mom for these dresses. I must admit, practically every cute piece of clothing that Gracie and Ellie own comes from Mom, Katie, or Andrae.

And finally! A picture of the groom himself. I must say, I have a handsome brother. (Kurt, now please bring me home something from the Caribbean.)

And here is the newest Heidi Laird herself :) What a beautiful person to share my name with.

Ellie gets her good looks from you, Dad.

And you, Jacob :)

And this pretty much sums up the night. a little sleeping beauty.

And this is what we had to look forward to after all of that! This is Colby, Kansas. It's actually a lot more beautiful than it looks. But really, after hundreds of miles, this scene got a little old. So who can blame me when I got really excited/ distracted when we came upon about 50 huge windmills in Evanston Wyoming? A little too distracted, though, that I hit 95 mph and got a ticket. It wasn't the best ending to a great trip, but that's pretty much the only low point of the whole vacation. We're now back in our little abode in the middle of nowhere, but it's nice to be back in 50 degree weather and near-empty winding country roads. I like it, for now. But yay for Julie and Oliver who give us an excuse to come back in 5 months! See you all then!

connected again!

2008-11-29T21:55:00.004-06:00

We finally have the internet again. And better yet, we finally have our own place again!! We moved into our house last weekend, and Jacob and I still can't believe that it is really ours. Well, I guess it's the bank's--so kind of them to lend it to us. So here are some pictures of some recent parties, purchases, and visitors!

Gracie's 2nd birthday. She picked (okay I guess I picked) german chocolate cake to celebrate.

Jacob hard at work assembling Gracie's first kitchen.

It was hard for her to talk to my mom and dad with so many exciting things going on.

This picture makes me laugh. She knew just what to do with every feature of the kitchen.

And here is our new estate :)

mmmm. New carpet. I love carpet. I know it's all the rage to install hardwood floors everywhere, but I will always love carpet.

This room used to be dark blue. We painted it yellow which, needless to say, makes the room much brighter and happier.

Basements are hard to come by out here, so it was great that we were able to find a housewith a bonus room over the garage. It will serve as Gracie's playroom and a storage room.

The living area. No, we will not be displaying our tv as the focal point of the room.I'm sorry, but I think that's tacky. Hopefully we can find an art piece big enough to cover the hole in the wall.

Ahhh...the beautiful washer and dryer that we inherited with the house. No more late night trips to the laundry mat.

Let the princess stage begin. And I'm blaming Katie for it--she gave Gracie this ensemble for her birthday.

It has been determined that Ellie looks like Dopey from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

A civil war confederate cemetery that we visited. One of the biggest graveyards of its kind.

My beautiful sister Katie has officially become the first of my family to come visit us in TN. She spent her Thanksgiving break with us and we had tons of fun. I miss her already.

The end.

reminiscing and looking forward

2008-11-22T00:19:00.003-06:00

Just a quick note to say that 2 years ago today my life changed forever. Don't worry--in a good way. Gracie was born and, although I had no idea what I was doing, I have somehow managed to keep her alive for the past two years. And along the way I've learned so very much. Probably the most obvious, yet most significant is that, in the words of Dr. Seuss, "a person's a person no matter how small." I never realized how real and alive a little human being is. They have feelings, they have a brain, and just like any normal human being, they want to be loved and understood. They want to understand the world around them. Parenting is much easier and fascinating when I remember that.

Now, two years later, we have a home with a cute yellow room for Gracie! And tomorrow is finally the day when we get to move in. Pictures will be posted soon!

little makeup artist

2008-11-15T15:47:00.005-06:00

This is so funny. It was bound to happen at some point, and I am still laughing about it. This morning Jacob sent Gracie downstairs to show me a "surprise." Gracie proudly entered the room looking like this:

This is mascara, in case you were wondering. Actually, I'm really impressed. She had a lot on her eyelashes, which means that somehow she put it on without getting it in her eyes. Apparently she skipped the blush and went straight for the tricky stuff.

And this is what Ellie thought of it all :)

keys and lamps

2008-11-02T22:32:00.006-06:00

Whenever I lose anything, the lost items are constantly on my mind, and I'm always slightly annoyed that I can't find them. For those who know me well know that I am often in this state of annoyance, but I am happy to report that what was lost this past week has now been found. My camera and two credit cards. aaahhhh, the relief. Yesterday at the closing for our house the seller handed me 3 keys, and said that a few more were on the way!!! Wow, I have never owned 3 of the same keys in my life. I am always losing keys, so we usually only have one house key to share. So I'm excited to have a great head start on house keys so maybe I should pull out the key finder that Mom gave us and actually use it before all of them get lost.

So here is the picture you have all been waiting for. Our incredible Halloween ensemble. But seriously, I'm starting a new tradition of hassle-free, non-traditional Halloween costumes. No offense, but the world has plenty of witches, princesses, and fairies, but when is the last time you've seen a complete living room lamp set? Well here's one:

Oh, did I mention that Gracie won the best costume award for her age division? And collectively, we received the funniest costume award. Yes, it was a great accomplishment. I laugh every time I think about it. I really enjoyed having this lamp shade over my head because I didn't have to look at people as we paraded around during the costume contest. Sometimes it's just nice to hide behind something and not have to look at anyone. Or maybe I'm just weird...

And lest I forget, here is little Ellie the lady bug. mmmm, I just want to squeeze her. Babies often just end up looking like little stuffed animals on Halloween--I love it!

butterfly kisses

2008-10-30T23:39:00.004-05:00

Gracie has a new fascination with butterfly kisses--blinking your eyelashes against another's cheek. She has quite the butterfly kiss with these eyelashes. aah, it melts my heart.

What an ironic time to lose my camera--Friday is a momentous day. Ellie's first Halloween, oh and we're closing on our first home!! I will get pictures of the home somehow or another, and stay tuned for some creative Halloween costumes... Happy Halloween!!

a little trim

2008-10-25T21:58:00.009-05:00

Okay, I'll admit, I once tried to cut Gracie's bangs and they turned out a little boyish due to her curly hair pulling them up a lot shorter than what I had accounted for (it made me laugh). So while I've been patiently waiting for the bangs to grow out, the rest of her hair has gotten a bit scraggly. Due to the fact that kid-friendly hair salons are hard to come by in this part of the country, I decided that with a little bit of chocolate and a movie, I could get the job done myself.

the prep

the chocolate

a still 2 year old!

the clean up

Okay, I know you're all expecting an "after" picture, but let's just say that Gracie was sick of the camera by the end of the night, so this was the best I could get.

p.s. Thanks Mom for the fleece pjs--perfect for the freezing basement!!

update continued

2008-10-13T23:20:00.004-05:00

This update will continue sooner than expected due to Ellie's unwillingness to be rocked to sleep. I have finally turned her over to the swing. I always feel bad resorting to a machine in order to get my child to go to sleep, but sometimes I just get too impatient.

I think the previous post brings us up to where we are now--good ol' Fairview, TN. A tiny little town about 45 minutes southwest of Nashville. Some of Jacob's family lives here so we decided to venture outside of Utah for a time and live in the country. And it really is the country--which is both good and bad. The good is that it is sooo beautiful. Especially now that all of the trees are turning colors and the humidity has eased up. The bad is that there is not much in the way of convenient shopping, and sidewalks are a foreign concept, not to mention the fact that I miss my family. But I am slowly getting used to it all, and while I don't know if I'll ever quite fit into this culture, I imagine that my memories will be fond of this place. And so, get ready for some more pictures from the past few months...

A little too excited for a bath.

Hiking partners...Dad and Gracie

Not so excited about the wagon ride at Thanksgiving point.

The good looking Griffin boys at Abbi's wedding.

Belle and Gracie

Our current abode--the in-law's. But not for much longer! We will hopefully be closing on our first home on Halloween Day!!

Grandma Griffin and Gracie feeding the horses (the horse bit so hard that it flipped the carrot out of Gracie's hand and right back into her face. So sad, but kind of funny)

view from the front yard.

in the mean time...

2008-10-13T21:15:00.006-05:00

Since my last round of blogging (about a year ago) a few significant things have occurred:

We all (Gracie included!) graduated from BYU in April. Even though it took me forever to decide what to study, I finally discovered sociology and loved school (at least the subject matter) from that point on. Hmm, I do miss Provo. My years at BYU will always be some of the best of my life. I consider it a miracle that I found Jacob--the most important outcome of the time that I spent in Provo. But I don't think anyone can come away from that little (well big) school on the hill and not be a better person.

On with the update: Jacob, as always, knew all along what he wanted to do. He graduated in biology composite teaching and, yes, he is now a middle school biology teacher. Some might think he is crazy, but all I can say is I hope that my children have at least one teacher in their life that is as exciting and motivating as Jake. I think he will do more good in this profession than any other that he could have chosen. Even if we live in poverty the rest of our lives, it will be somewhat of a compensation to know what an influence for good he is on so many kids that are at such a critical and malleable stage in life. If you can't tell, I think Jacob is one of the smartest, kindest, most attractive guys on the face of the earth :)

Our good friend Sophie got baptized!! We met Solomon and Sophie while living at Wymount and we became great friends. They came to BYU from China and I have always been impressed with people who choose to attend a college that is not their first language. College was hard enough for me, and I spoke English!! We miss the great chinese food and the great company that Sophie and Solomon always provided (we hope they come visit us in Tennessee one of these days!)

Elllie was born June 6, 2008. She weighed in at 9 lbs 1 oz! Jake was that exact weight, so I blame him for her size. You know, I was okay with having a big baby because I thought she'd be able to sleep through the night sooner than later. But apparently not. But I really cannot complain because Ellie often gets the best baby award. She is mostly always content and only screams at the top of her lungs if Gracie bites her, which is completely understandable. But most of the time Gracie is really sweet with Ellie, and I have glimpses of what great friends they're bound to be. There's nothing better than a sister!

Wow, this post has taken a while. And not because I particularly have a lot to say. It's because blogging and posting pictures can get really frustrating when you don't know what you're doing. So I'm going take a break and continue this update tomorrow...

a creative outlet

2008-10-13T17:47:00.004-05:00

I guess you could say I've been on somewhat of a blogging hiatus. I'm not sure what has prompted me to write again--I think Elder Uchtdorfs' talk inspired me. He said that creation and compassion are 2 key components of a joyful life, and I'm always up for more happiness. Since writing is somewhat of a creative outlet, I will be attempting more of it in the form of blogging. So here we go...

Yee Ha

2007-09-07T17:43:00.003-05:00

Okay, so this was one of the highlights of our trip: dropping in at Binkley's garage where every Friday night they have live country music and dancing. It was an authentic southern experience.

A new look for us

2007-09-07T17:40:00.001-05:00

We visited the famous Loveless Cafe and their biscuits were soooo good. We've certainly gone country, if you can't tell from this picture.

Nashville, TN

2007-09-07T17:30:00.001-05:00

We just got back from our summer vacation to Nashville, TN in case ya'll were wondering what had happened to us. Here are a few pictures of mom and dad Griffin who were amazing hosts and took us all over town, as well as providing room and board in their beautiful mansion on the hill.

Happy Graduation

2007-08-19T23:19:00.000-05:00

Happy Graduation Katie! Gracie was excited to see Katie again after her recent Jerusalem adventure. I picked up Katie's cap and gown for her, and tried them on, pretending that it was me that was graduating. But alas...3 more classes to go.

I've converted

2007-08-17T00:45:00.000-05:00

We don't have a cell phone, so it's no surprise that it's taken a while to get a blog spot. I'm usually a little slow when it comes to these things. Ignorance is bliss; I know that as soon as I get a cell phone, I won't be able to live without one. Same with this blog thing. Once I start, I know it's going to be hard to stop. But, nonetheless I have decided to start. I'm not sure why--maybe it will be therapeutic, entertaining, enlightening, or all of the above. We'll see.