Deep Thoughts, Shallow Brain, Part 14

I had a rough day today,
it really wasn't so great.
Everything seemed gray,
I just felt so much weight.

Things just seemed to build,
until I felt so powerless.
My mind was overfilled,
I just felt tons of stress.

I now sit down to write,
the blessings that are mine.
My life has been so bright,
it’s ungrateful for me to whine.

My life has not been tough,
I’ve been blessed abundantly.
Some days may just be rough,
so that I may clearly see.

As I journeyed through this day,
I began to think of all the bad.
Foolishly letting those feelings stay,
instead of focusing on all I had.

Great days do not happen,
an hundred percent of the time.
But as they come again,
it’s a blessing more sublime.

I had to change my view,
when I felt sorry for myself.
To happily make it through,
to put bad feelings on the shelf.

I have stopped to recognize,
more ways that I’ve been blessed.
Causing me to realize,
a need to focus on what’s best.

It doesn’t change the things,
that cause me so much sorrow.
But oh what assurance it brings,
as I look towards tomorrow.

My Two Little Comedians

Today the kids and I planned to do some pretty fun stuff. We ended up doing nothing but cleaning. Depending on who you ask, maybe that could be fun, right? In the end it is just fun to spend time with them. I miss them when they are gone, and love playing with them while they are here. Their definition of fun just might be a little different.

• I took the kids to their Mom's house in the afternoon today. T actually fell asleep in the car. A asked me for a tissue, and I handed her one. She said, "thank you." I looked in the rear view mirror to see her wiping T's face as she explained, "T is just drooling all over the place, and it is SOOOO disgusting. I just need to help him out a little." It was sort of really sweet and really funny at the same time.
• A had some crackers and T wanted some. She asked him for the password. T said, "I don't know what it is." A responded "T, the password is mayyoumaycracker."
• T thought that password was so funny, he started calling me that. I laughingly told him that wasn't my name. He then said, "oh, sorry your highness." I laughed and said, "your highness?" He said, "oh, sorry your majesty!"
• T and A were saying something funny to me, so I quoted the old gangster line (with voice and everything) of "You talkin' to me? Are you talkin' to me?" T instantly responded with "THEY CALL ME MR. PIG!" from the Lion King. Man it stinks to have kids that are smarter than you. Here I thought I would just use this line and make them laugh. He goes and turns my line into garbage within seconds by quoting Pumba the wart hog.
  

Such an Awesome Gift!

It may be hard for the untrained eye to know why a tie would be such a cool gift. See the little blue things on the tie? Yep! Those are Viagra pills! This is indeed a Viagra tie. The best part of it? This gift came from the last people anyone would ever expect to actually own a Viagra tie. I found out they had it through a mutual friend. No one should ever give me such information. I can never resist giving someone a hard time when armed with such info. At the time I was teasing them, I never could have imagined that the tie would be mine one day. I promised them that I would never tell anyone who gave me the tie. So, I won't. I just want to say that I was saddened to hear that they are moving out of my ward because they just bought a house. He is in the medical technology field and she is a pharmacist (who else could find a tie this sweet). In the end, a promise is a promise. I am sorry I cannot tell anyone who really gave it to me (hehe!). I really am going to miss them, and wish them all the best in their new home. They are such awesome people. It is a really nice going away present. I was so excited when they gave it to me, I couldn't believe it. Sure, I have thought about the implications of an unmarried guy wearing a tie like that. Then I decided it is too cool not to wear, so I don't care. My little blue friends and I will definitely be together next week at church!

First Snow and Primary Changes

Today the kids got a second Primary teacher (luckily they did not lose their awesome first one) and they also had a change in the Primary Presidency. We are excited for the new people, but we are so thankful for the wonderful Primary Presidency that preceded them. They were so kind, patient and caring with each of the kids and made each of them feel so important. The kids and I will miss having them in there so much. Today the kids learned about being honest and telling the truth. They made little crowns that said, "I Am Honest." They also made and played with sock puppets.

We woke up to fresh fallen snow this morning. The kids were so excited. After church they couldn't wait to throw snow balls at their Dad. They also can never seem to stop walking in the snow. That is not so much a problem when they are wearing play clothes and snow boots. It can however, pose a problem when they are wearing church clothes and shoes. They keep asking me when we are going sledding and when we are going to build a snowman. They don't understand that we need a tiny bit more snow on the ground. In the middle of the day, right after church the sun was shining and it was actually sort of warm. We didn't plan on going on a walk, but decided it would be okay. I bundled the kids up in their coats, put them in the wagon and wrapped a blanket on their legs. We had a fun walk. We hope that it won't get too freezing cold too fast. Our Sunday walks around the neighborhood are definitely one of our favorite things.

My Yearbook Photos

I saw this on a friend's blog. I could not resist trying it myself. The website is http://www.yearbookyourself.com/ . If you do give it a shot, let me know. I think it is freakin' hilarious. By the way, none of these are my real yearbook photos, although at times I might wish they were. They all portray me as being tall, dark, and somewhat handsome. In reality I am just tall. Just thought you would all get a good laugh at my expense. I know I did.

1952

1960

1978

1988
1994

2000

Picking Pumpkins

Every year Grandpa takes a big section of his garden and plants pumpkins for all the local Grand kids to come and pick out in October. Indeed the kids have been able to choose a pumpkin every year since they were 10 months old. They love doing this and look forward to it each year. Grandpa does an amazing job of growing the pumpkins. He always has enough for everyone too. They currently have 9 Grand kids locally and he has about 14 pumpkins in his garden right now. This year was especially cool for T and A because they helped so much in the garden, and probably even helped to plant their very own pumpkins. They have also spent plenty of time watching all the plants grow, and helping pick vegetables as they have become ripe. This year all the cousins could not get together on the same day, but at least we got some of them together. It was a lot of fun and a practice that the kids look forward to every year. We sure are lucky to have such an awesome Grandpa who does so much for everyone.

Child Citations

• I forgot to write this one last Monday as I was taking the kids back to their Mom's house. As we were nearing her house, I told the kids that I was sure going to miss my best buddies. I quote A's response verbatim, "Dad, we have been learning a lot about emotions, and that sometimes people have more than one emotion at a time. I am sad because I am going to miss you, but I am so excited to see my stuffed froggy. Does that make sense to you?" I just have a simple question. I mean I know time flies, but when did my sweet little four year old turn 35?
• This morning T and I were wrestling. I was pretending he was a pillow. He got free and then came flying through the air at me. I was lying down and just before he made contact, he aggressively said, "So, you want a pillow so bad, how about a B L A NKET?!!!" Then he hit me like a ton of bricks (well a ton of bricks that only weighs like 40 pounds).
• I took the kids to get my hair cut today. They normally have some kid books or kid magazines there, but today they did not. T (a boy after my own heart) decided to read a car magazine, A on the other hand thought "Redbook" would be a good magazine no matter how much I told her it wasn't. She wanted me to read it to her while we were waiting. I told her she was only showing me advertisements. She said, "Daddy, just read it." So, I read, "Oil of Olay's new rejuvenating facial cream can remove lines and other signs of aging." They both started laughing so hard. She then had me read another ad. I read, "The Chevrolet Traverse has more cargo capacity than any vehicle in its class, while still getting an EPA estimated 24 MPG on the road." They both started laughing again, followed by T saying that I "make up the funniest stuff ever."
• Later A decided she wanted to read Reader's Digest, because "it is so cute and little." She turned to an ad for some feminine hygiene products. She instantly held it up for everyone to see and shouted, "look Dad, an ad for diapers for ladies!" I politely tried to tell her that was neat, while trying to get her to be quiet. There were two ladies sitting there waiting for a haircut, and two ladies cutting hair. I was the only (very uncomfortable) guy in the room besides T. Just so everyone is clear, I NEVER taught her that.

Playing with Aunt C.

I had a meeting to go to tonight, so my awesome sister came over to play with the kids. I was gone a few hours and this is what I came home to. They made all of these cool little Halloween decorations with a little kit that she bought. As you can tell, the kids got pretty creative (one example: there are quite a few figurines that have broom bristles for hair). They had a ton of fun as they always do with her. They even did some jumping jack exercises for me before bed time. I love to watch small kids do jumping jacks, it is hilarious. Anyway, they had a great time, and as always, my sister did really fun stuff with them.

Deep Thoughts, Shallow Brain, Part 13

I was listening to a talk and it inspired me to write another one of these crappy poems.


In the newborn ICU, when the kids were just days old, A was having a hard time. Like the sweet brother T has always been, he placed his arms around her. She instantly felt safe and stopped crying. He held her close like this for quite some time and through it all she became stronger and remained content.

Safety in Arms

What do your arms say about you?
Do your arms seek to make someone else blue?

Do you knock them down, and hold them tight?
Do you use your arms to cause a fight?

Are people scared when your arms are near?
Could someone seeing them, illicit such fear?

OR

Do your arms show people, a gentle hug so warm?
Do your arms ease their pain, when they’ve been hit by a storm?

Do your arms give place, to know their okay?
Do your arms keep their worldly troubles at bay?

Do your arms suggest, that everything’s alright?
Do your arms give comfort, after a fright?

Do your arms tell someone, that they’re really neat?
Do your arms make someone’s day complete?

Do your arms show a love and a sense of care?
Do your arms give the message “I’m always there?”

Do your arms make someone feel great inside?
Have your arms held someone, as they have cried?

Do your arms hold tight, not wanting to let go?
Do your arms set someone’s heart all aglow?

Do your arms ensure safety, to all that they hold?
Do your arms treat each person, like they are gold?

Our arms are so great, there are many things they can do,
they can make people feel safe, or can make them feel blue.

So what do you think your arms say about you?
Are they there for someone, to see them through?

Some arms are warm, as I’ve been embraced,
I feel such feelings, they just can’t be replaced.

Others arms seemed, to have been quite cold,
an arm full of feeling, not fun to behold.

I hope my arms have given, the weary release,
arms they can come to, when looking for peace.

What a better place the whole world would be,
if we opened kind arms for all that we see.

The Train Station

Last night we went to the Dairy Keen restaurant in Heber. Our family just calls it the Train Station because it is a completely train themed dining experience. For anyone who has not been there, they have train toys to play with while the food is being prepared, an electric train that goes all over the ceiling, and outside, they even have train tables. We all love eating there. It was fun to just leave the valley for a little bit and take a drive as well. It was great eating at a place we love, taking a drive, and for all of us to just be together. We sang some songs and had a really fun time. We then decided to drive around on a little bit longer drive and then headed home to bed. With gas prices being as high as they are, it is not often that we take a drive anymore. It was nice to just go for a drive once again last night. If you are ever in Heber and want some good food, I highly recommend the "Train Burger," or anything else on their menu. It is worth the stop.

• When we were in the car, T said that he "did not like Princesses." A then asked him if he liked Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Jasmine, Cinderella, etc. To each question he answered "yes." He then said, "I guess I really just don't like Barbies, but I DO like princesses." At first I was laughing, but then I thought how smart he really is for a 4 year old! I realized that I like the "Princesses" of the world, but not the "Barbies" of the world as well. Typically the girls who are like Barbie are flaunting all that they have and usually being immodest. I do not like Barbie's constant drive to acquire as many worldly possessions as possible, or to strive to be on everyone's "A-list". With Barbie everything seems to be about her. She seems very stuck on herself and what is in it for her. To contrast that, most Princesses are beautiful, kind, sweet, modest and generally amazing. They are worried about others and are somewhat minimalist when it comes to acquiring the worldly things. Obviously this analogy can apply to Ken (hopefully not at all like Kent) being compared to the Princes of the world as well. Anyway, what started out as a funny comment, really got me thinking about the kind of person I would like to be with. So, it is clear that I need to always do my best to be a Prince if I am ever going to be with a sweet Princess! And some of you STILL thought I didn't have ADD. I no longer think a doctor diagnosing me is necessary!