Wednesday, August 24, 2011

My Apartment/Studio

Finally! A blog post! Thanks Carrie for making me promise to post these. Sorry, I'm a week later than promised.

I moved into my own place at the beginning of the summer and feel unbelievably blessed to be here. From price to location to space this place is AWESOME. Heavenly Father made it happen. There is no other explanation. I have two great kids, a happy home, interesting classes, wonderful friends, and a growing business. I'm the luckiest girl I know.


The whole house isn't ours...just the main floor.  Carolyn and Tim live upstairs. They are the best neighbors ever. They bring us dessert and do all the yard work. Sweet deal!



IKEA everything. Thank you Christian for helping me pick it all out. I feel like I'm going to sleep every night in a home decorating magazine.


More IKEA lighting and a scratch and dent table from Grand. Thanks to whoever damaged it enough to put it in my price range.



I'm lovin float wraps. Hopefully people will see this collage and love them as much as I do...enough to order lots. ;)  They are so fun. Thank you Lara Douglas for taking all the pictures with me in them.


For those of you who are timid about large prints....this picture of John and Lizzie is 30x40 inches...bigger than they are in real life.  GO BIG OR GO HOME....wait we are home. You get my point.


Yes, there is a door hanging on my wall. It's even backlit so at night it glows! Thank you Christian, Brian, and Ben for helping me clean up the door, and thank you Jordan for finally helping me finish the printing and hanging. I love how it turned out!


Saturday, March 12, 2011

New Haven

 
It's spring break so I had to make the most of it and get out of Roanoke. Nathan (my second oldest brother) agreed to drive 11 hours with me and the kids to visit our oldest brother David and his family in New Haven, Connecticut. So far we've had an amazing time with David, Lauren and their two beautiful little girls, Amelia and Frieda. Highlights have been dress ups, a trip to the beach, and David's unbelievable pizzas (Pizza 1: banana, onion, parmesan, and curry with vodka sauce; Pizza 2: lemon, fennel bulb, with almonds and parmesan; Pizza 3: pistachio, rosemary, and red onion with olive oil; Pizza 4: chicken, plumbs, cilantro, bean sprouts, and lime in satay sauce).  I know they sound crazy but believe me it was the best pizza I've ever had. If David weren't going to be a famous architect he could easily have become the world's finest chef. We're sad to have to be leaving so soon. Thanks Dave and Lauren for a wonderful weekend.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Motherhood


As I was driving home from class today I had a few thoughts on motherhood.

1: You know you’re a mom when you feel a great sense of accomplishment after shaving your legs.

2: You know you’re a Mom when you go to take off your pants and are surprised by the fact that the button isn’t a snap.

3: You know you’re a mom on the verge of losing your social skills when you accidently start dropping words like “potty” and “ouchie” in adult conversation.

4: You know you have a two-year-old when you have to put up with more drama in the 15 minutes before bedtime than in a whole season of the Bachelor. 

5: You know you’re a mom when that fine line between love and masochism starts to become fuzzy and maybe even non-existent.

Haha, that last one came to me while I was nursing today. John is teething….so, well…I guess there’s not much more to say than that. The crazy part isn’t that we continue to nurse our kids even when they have razor sharp little fangs. The crazy part is that even after being bitten so hard I think I’m bleeding I simply move him to the other side. Motherhood…crazy stuff.

One funny story to end on.

Right after the sacramental prayer I’ve made it a habit of leaning over and asking Lizzie what we think about during the sacrament. Then I feel like an awesome mom when she happily says, “Jesus!” just loud enough to be heard by several pews. A few Sundays ago Lizzie was in a super grumpy mood, so when I leaned over to ask her what we think about during the sacrament she broke the silence with a loud, “No! I don’t like Jesus!”

Yep. Nothing like a two-year-old to keep this mom humble.


Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Mae Roberts


John was with me today. It surprised me because I haven't felt him around in a long time. I didn't know why I felt him near today until tonight when I checked my email. My friend sent me Mae Robert's obituary. Her funeral was today, and I feel certain that John attended it with her. So, I guess he was in the neighborhood.

John met Mae in Provo when he saw her hitch hiking to the temple. He gave her a ride that morning and continued to give her rides almost every morning at 6am for a long time, eventhough he wouldn't otherwise have been out and about at that time of day. They became very close friends and Mae would call John any time she needed something. He helped in her garden, gave her rides, took her cat to the vet, picked up groceries for her, and spent many hours listening to her stories. I went with him sometimes. We'd sit on her couch and listen to her tell us about her life story, her friends in her ward, how much she currently owed on her house (which she always knew to the cent because she was obsessed with getting out of debt), and most frequently her conversations with President Hinckley. I don't know if any of them were true. Most of the stories seemed implausable, but it was nothing but endearing. I've never met anyone who loved the brethren so much. Whatever they asked of us (from planting a garden to getting out of debt), Mae was sure to do right away. She proudly hung a letter on her wall from President Hinckley's secretary as proof that she and the prophet were close.


After reading the obituary I'm sure President Hinckley did in fact know who Mae was. But I am even more sure that Heavenly Father knows and loves that amazing woman. I cried when I read her obituary, but it was a good cry. I cried because her life is one of the most inspirational stories I've ever heard. She was poor and uneducated and hunched and mentally insane after a long life of hard knocks, but I can only imagine the gorgeous radiant woman she is now as she reunites with the host of angels who now keep her company, one of whom I'm sure is John. I can't think of a more beautiful example of what the plan of salvation is all about.


I'll never forget Mae. Someday I hope to be half the woman she is...and I mean that with all my heart. I often let myself get distracted by tryng to be all the wrong things, but Mae stands as a reminder of what it means to be truly great. If baby John had been a girl I was planning on naming him Abby Mae Jones in honor of Mae Roberts.


We love you Mae.


The following is her obituary:

Mae Lorraine Bowman Roberts

Born January 28, 1932 - Merrill, Wisconsin

Died February 3, 2011 - Salt Lake City, UT

Mae Roberts was able to peacefully leave this earthly existence after many years of loving service and dedication. Many of us remember Mae, as that bent over dedicated lady walking down South State Street in Provo pulling a wagon with two garbage cans full of aluminum cans. Many of you stopped to give her a ride as she walked in the heat of summer or as she was walking to the Provo Temple hours before daylight in very cold weather. Some of us were fortunate enough to be able to help.

Mae was born in Wisconsin and placed in an orphanage at birth. She was told she had a stroke at birth and for years they did not think she was teachable. Mae said she saw her mother once when she was 9 years old. Her mother was dying in a Tuberculosis Ward at a hospital. She never met her father. She worked in a factory when young and always walked to work even when it was very cold and snowy.

Mae was baptized into the LDS church on May 23, 1973. She moved to Utah in 1976 and celebrated her baptismal date each year by spending the full day in the temple from open to close, and on her birthday would order a steak dinner at Los Hermanos.

Her life was simple - get up - read scriptures - go to the temple - go pick up cans and once every week would bake many loaves of whole wheat bread to last her a week and peanut butter cookies to give to others. She loved being with close friends and children on the holidays, baking and cooking for them.

Mae had a love for music and sang for many years in her church choir. She loved the leaders of her church and enjoyed writing to them and sending them birthday cards. She received several responses from them. Over the years Mae completed many thousands of temple ordinances. Can you imagine the reception she received when she crossed over from mortality, from all who are waiting to say thank you with an embrace, and welcome her home.

Mae made a promise to herself many years ago that if Heavenly Father would help her get out of debt, she would pledge to give $100/ yr to the Primary Children's Medical Center. The very day she made this promise she was able to get out of debt. Her donations have far surpassed what she promised to give. For 22 yrs she accomplished this by collecting thousands of pounds of cans and other metals to recycle and then selling them to metal salvage every year. The entire yearly proceeds were pledged to the Primary Children's' Hospital through the KSL Telethon. In recent years she has been recognized by KSL for her giving during theRadiothon Celebrity Dinner, though she did not like the lime light. One of the last promises she asked was that her pledge be made in her behalf again this year.... when they announce they will match the pledge with a "double" donation.

Thank you Mae for your example of dedication and love.

We will celebrate Mae's life at her funeral (directed by her wishes) 11 AM on Tuesday February 8, 2011 at the Bonneville 1st Ward Chapel 85 S. 900 E. Provo, UT Visitors welcome at 10 to visit. In lieu of flowers please make a generous donation to the Primary Children's Hospital (When it is double!)

Friday, November 5, 2010

Halloween

The kids and I went out shopping several times this year before settling on costumes. The chili pepper costume in John's size that said "Hot Stuff" across the front pretty much sealed the deal. We decided to go Mexican themed. Unfortunately we had a hard time fitting Lizzie into our theme. Caroline and Brian came up with several good ideas including fiesta bowl, seven layered bean dip, jumping bean, and pinata. In the end she fell in love with a giraffe costume. We decided to tie a rope to her and carry a stick and call her a pinata anyway, but for some reason none of us wanted to be the one holding the stick and looking like a child abuser.
Halloween...really the day before Halloween finally arrived, and we packed in so much fun that I think we're still recovering. We spent the morning at a pumpkin patch/corn maize/petting zoo with our friends Jenny and Debbie and their families. Then we went to the stake center for games and trunk or treating. After that we headed to a murder mystery dinner put on by Amber Dutton. Great day! 






Thank you make up artist Brian Spencer (left) for the masterful mustache and Jordan Reeves (right) for providing the candy and style. And of course nothing gets done around here without Caroline Booth (taking the picture). Love you guys!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Bike-A-Thon


 Lizzie recently started attending Salem's montessori school. It is amazing, and yesterday's bike-a-thon was further evidence of this fact. The kids (ages about 2 through 5th grade) got sponsors and rode their bikes around the school yard to raise money for the Nutty Putty Cyclers/Liz Logelin Foundation. I was the lucky photographer for the big event. Thank you Salem Montessori!













Monday, October 25, 2010

Miss Dada

This morning while I was changing Lizzie's diaper she looked up at the picture on the wall of John holding her. She said, "Dada hold me!" Then she became very pensive and said, "Dada gone. Night. Moon. Stars...He miss me. He love me. Dada gone. Night. We go find him." She repeated these phrases all morning long. I wanted to know more about what she meant, but I also didn't want to ask any leading questions. I guess that's the psychologist in me. The hundreds and hundreds of clinical interviews I did for my job in Provo trained me well on the dangers of asking kids leading questions. I didn't want her to say what I wished she would say. I wanted to know exactly what she meant.
I asked her to tell me more about Dada and if she remembered him. She said she does remember him and then kept repeating that he was gone but that he loves her.
I asked her where he went and she said, "Dada gone. Week. Watching me. See me."
I asked her what she meant by week and she just kept saying, "Dada gone. Week. Night. Love me. Me love Dada!"
I never figured out what she meant when she was talking about night and week. As for the rest, she might just be repeating back what I've told her so many times before...that Dada loves her and is watching out for her. But either way, she's right. I hope she never forgets.