So my body has just recently gotten over falling off a chair and almost breaking my ribs. My breastbone finally stopped hurting every time I put pressure on it.
I celebrated too soon.
Yesterday we had Julie de Azevedo come do a workshop for our stake (so good). On the way to the stakehouse (1 block away) I slipped and landed hard on my tailbone. I have hardly been able to walk. I can't stand up or sit down. Luckily Josh has been around to clean the house and make food for Joseph and I. I hope this doesn't hurt for too long, because being laid up is not helping anyone around here. Maybe I should just not go anywhere or climb on anything.
On another note, today in church the family that sat behind us has a little girl about 6 months younger than Joseph. She had a bag of chex snack mix and was sharing it with Joseph. Every time he tried to get her attention he'd say "baby, baby" I kept trying to explain to him that they are almost the same age and she is not a baby. Silly kids.
So today our Young Women lesson was on coming to know our Savior. We talked about people we know (famous people etc) and people we really KNOW. I thought a lot about how well I know my Savior. I know there are times in my life I've been closer to Him than I am now (mission for one) but there are also times I've been farther away from Him than I am now. I hope I can teach Joseph (and any siblings he may get) how to come to know his Savior.
It's quite a daunting task for a mother. But I know I'm up to it.
On another (yet totally similar) note. About a week ago I was in the kitchen getting breakfast for Joseph. I looked out the window and the world looked all white (I know, I know. There's snow on the ground). The trees were all covered in thick frost and the fog of the morning was just breaking. The sun was shining through the trees and it truly was a beautiful sight.
I know Christ lives and loves us. Why else would he bless us with something so beautiful?
So it's been a while since I blogged. I do have an excuse. It's not an excellent one but it does give a reason. Shortly after my last entry our desktop computer started slowing down big time and after about three weeks it crashed. We took it to my brother Jeff to fix it (he's a computer genius). Needless to say, it's still in ICU.
Since I haven't blogged since July, I should probably catch up.
Joseph is growing like crazy. He had his 18 month appointment in August (finally hit the 20 lb mark). The doctor asked how many words he could speak, I said around 30 (total guess). The next week I decided I should count and wrote down all the words I had heard him say. After 130 I finally gave up. I just wish he'd put some of those together. We're still waiting for multi-word sentences. He does say "thank you" and "there you go" but that's about it.
At the end of June I was called at the Laurel advisor in our ward. I love the Young Women. We have some really good laurels in our ward. July brought girls camp. That was an experience. Joseph spent the first night at girl's camp with me. Didn't get much sleep that night. But it sure was fun to see the girls play with him.
August my sisters came back from Finland. It was good to see them after 3 months of visiting Mom and Dad. It has been fun to see pictures and hear stories of things they did with Mom and Dad. They brought everyone back a moose from the Arctic Circle (the real one not the burger place). Mom gave them all a hug, so they could give everyone a hug from Grandma. Joseph sleeps with his (and his daddy's) moose. So he gets a hug from him Grandma Brown every night.
Also in August, Josh started a new job (finally regular paychecks) and school. We're hoping he'll be done with his Spanish degree in May. Then just one more semester to finish his social work degree.
So September and October were mainly filled with work, homework, school, and me and Joseph taking walks while Daddy was busy with other things.
November came crunch time as Josh prepared for school to be out. Thanksgiving was fun. And a well deserved break. We went to the zoo and got family pictures taken.
After the zoo we went to my brother's house for dinner. It was the first time to be together with my siblings since conference.
Once Thanksgiving was over, Christmas started. I made afghans for the people we had for Christmas. That means five afghans. I actually started them shortly after Halloween. The last one is not quite finished yet, but I ran out of yarn so I need to get more.
Joseph loved Christmas. he loves the snow, he loves snowmen and santa and reindeer (moose as he calls them.)
The weekend before Christmas we spent at my brother Matt's house. It's actually my parents that they are house sitting until Mom and Dad get back next year. It was so nice to spend a whole weekend with my siblings and nieces and nephews. Joseph had fun playing with his cousins. He's finally getting to the point where he can play with other children.
Christmas was wonderful. We spent the day as a family, just enjoying the spirit of the day. We are grateful for the spirit of Christ that has been in our home this year. We hope it will continue throughout the year and forever.
So today is the 4th of July. Such a wonderful day. Today we remember all those who have done so much to give us this great country. I am so grateful for those who risked their lives so we can have the freedoms we usually take for granted. Grateful for that wonderful document that many men signed at risk of death stating that we can be free to worship how we may, free from oppression of governments, kings and principalities, free from so many things we don't even question because it's become such a part of our lives.
I am grateful for the opportunity to show and teach my son what a wonderful country we live in. How this is the promised land. What a blessing God has given us. I thank Him for it.
We started our Independence weekend yesterday. Our city had a car show last night and we went and looked at all the old cars and tractors. (only in a small town do the "classic car" shows include tractors). After we got home we had a little cool off session. Joseph thinks playing with the hose is the coolest thing in the world. Even after he is shivering from the cold water, he still yells when I take him in the house.
Today I ran my second 5k. My time was 39:21. That's almost ten minutes faster than the last one. And my training has been atrocious lately. A big shout-out to my two boys who ran the last mile with me and pushed me to be my best. I sure love them.
After the race, the city had a breakfast and then a parade. It was fun to watch Joseph at the parade. He loved the fire trucks, horses and the ATVs (again, only in a small town). One of the best parts of the parade is right behind this old firetruck (cool siren, I tell you what), was a truck with the flag. Everyone stopped and they sang the national anthem. It was so thrilling to see my little boy with his hand over his heart, even though he had no clue what was going on.
In a time when people think you are radical if you wear a shirt with a flag on it, or honor our founding fathers, call me a radical. I'll never change and I'll always love this country, what it stands for, and those who sacrificed so we can have what we have.
So Spring started with a real bang. I think it was a thunderstorm. And it's been that way ever since. I keep wondering if we are going to have spring at all before summer comes this Sunday. Probably not.
A couple of weeks ago, Josh decided to give his lizard aquarium a good cleaning. He took out the lizard and all the plants, etc and gave it a thorough washing. Joseph wanted in on the fun so he took a turn pretending he was a lizard. He sure wants to be where his daddy is. Speaking of where Daddy is...
A couple of weeks ago they had a classic car show in town. Joseph liked looking at the cars, but he liked pushing his stroller and pretending he was a big boy even better. I think he liked the cars because daddy liked the cars. We finally got our shower wall painted. As you can see, Joseph did his share of painting. He acts so much like a big boy and copies everything he can. And of course, he is so proud of himself when he can do the same thing as Daddy (and sometimes Mommy). Last week we went on a hike with Josh's sisters, a brother-in-law, and their kids. Joseph loved hiking. He thinks it's so cool to walk off through the forest. Of course, he follows his father everywhere he goes. And as he hikes he sings his favorite song "dad, dad, dad, dad" It goes on and on. We stopped for a break, and a photo op. He was trying to find the dog (Melinda and Jake brought their dog on the hike). After Dad, the dog was his most favorite topic. And most favorite object to make sure he knew where it was. He loves dogs. He can hear a dog bark any where near by and he will be talking about dogs for an hour. He loves Clifford the big red dog.
Here's a stop for another photo opportunity. He sure had fun. He will be a hiking fool when he grows up. Just like his dad.And here is the whole family. Enjoying time together and getting our exercise.
Another fun note, this week the Disney Christmas Carol Train came to town. We went to see it and Joseph had fun. Looking at the lights, seeing the snow, and making friends with all the people. He flirted with all the girls and made himself adorable. Not that it takes a lot for that.
So, here's how this game works-the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year, a handmade gift from me. What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! The catch is that you must participate as well. Before you leave your comment, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going (or be lazy and copy and paste like I did). Then come back, let me know you're going to play and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift! I promise!
This weekend was a busy one for us. The Haderlies (Josh's sister Charity and fam) came to town. We spent the whole weekend doing family stuff. Thursday we went to Temple Square. It was Joseph's first time and he had a blast.
He loved looking at the statues. I don't think he quite got the fact that he is named after this man. But he sure did love looking at it.
I love this photo with Joseph pointing to the Christus. He loves to look at pictures (or statues) of Jesus and always lets us know who it is. ("jeezz" he says).
He loved Temple Square. He loved the fountains (and there are so many of them), he loved the flowers (ditto) and he loved being with his cousins. His Haderlie cousins love him to death. They always wanted to be holding his hand. And he hated that. But he loved having so many people pay attention to him. He loved hanging out with his aunts, and he loved walking all over. He actually walked around most of the top of the Conference Center. I kept waiting for him to reach his limit, but he kept on going. My little trouper.
Saturday we had a BBQ with the whole family (most of them). Joseph had fun playing with Grandpa Mike and became his little shadow.
It's real funny to watch because he actually gets a little jealous of his other cousins when Grandpa pays attention to them.
Sunday there was a baby blessing and then Monday we had a breakfast.
He finally did crash, but not until after going on his first hike (sorry no pictures, the camera died).
All in all, we had a fun weekend. It was so fun to see the energy that this little boy has. Hopefully some of it can rub off on his mommy and daddy.
