Someone's Been Eating My...

..CABBAGES! Actually, it was not someone but some deer. Two fawns and a doe who are just so cute I just couldn't help but sit and watch them nibble my cabbages during the early morning hour! One nibbled piece of evidence, uh, I mean cabbage, is even in a pot in my front yard! I like to tell my guests to make themselves at home; I never guessed that these forest friends would be so comfortable.

Rise and Shout..

the Christensen's are out!
Early.

Here are just three of the many creative ways my family used to torture my teenage self to wake up:
1. Dripping a melting a melting ice cube onto my nose (thanks, Dad)
2. Setting the dryer and washer which was just across the hall from my room to buzz at 6am nearly every day (thanks, Mom)
3. Meowing. Yes, I said, "Meowing". Like a choir of deaf tom cats, my sisters were led in a meowing cacophony to wake me from my peaceful slumbers (thanks, sisters!, thanks dad for being the chorister)

My Best Side

My mom and I did a quick photo shoot before church this week. I have a hard time capturing her on my own (with the camera or without!) It is always amazing to me to see how PeaPod's personality shines through her photos, even though it is hard to capture her full smile as she runs around the room. One of the ways to slow her down was for us to give her another camera. As I look at this photo, I thought it could be entitled: "This is My Best Side". And that got me thinking of how I have to make sure I'm doing my very best, showing my best side, for this little munchkin at all times. She is capturing me easier than I can her! She watches and picks up little things we do so quickly!

Top of the Park

We're on the top of the park today! And I'm on top of the world. As I played with PrincessPea, climbing up towers, over a rock climbing wall, through tunnels (yes, I really did scurry through tunnels like a squirrel!) and sliding down slides, I could not help but to start to cry from happiness. I know, weird.
Pea was worried and took my face in her hands saying, "You okay, Mommy?" She is so empathetic to those around her. I explained I was wonderful and chased her once again.
This ability to do these things without much pain with my daughter is so wonderful after the last two years of frustrating pain. Pain that leaked its way into my life despite trying to stopper it. I ask forgiveness to anyone of whom I did not understand their trial of pain or another trial in this life. I pray I will never be so callous. I know now that health is a gift that we cannot truly understand and appreciate when we are healthy.
The last two years were actually a gift for me to grow with compassion, to be more tender, more understanding, and more patient.
Would I have chosen this experience?
No, but I know that I'm a bit better inside even though honestly, I would vainly have traded that internal improvement for having my outside better looking this last little while!
So here's to sitting, walking, running and playing!
Here's to life and learning!
Here is to being at the top of the park!

By Small and Simple Things...

We were blessed to have an apostle of the Lord, Elder Ballard, speak to our ward this Sunday in our very own chapel! The ward's and our excitement to see a live apostle reminded me of a over decade ago during my days at BYU. We would anticipate apostles and prophets invited to speak for the campus wide Thursday Morning Devotionals; we'd crowd into the Marriot Center until it was overflowing with more people than any basketball game . I still remember Pres. Monson's (who was Elder Monson at the time) talk on how to study both for things spiritual and secular. That talk has always motivated me to truly learn how to study both subjects. Those words were a great lesson for me.
True, I didn't have a rather energetic 2 year old at that time (I married after my graduation from BYU) but Elder Ballard's message this Sunday gave plain and simple truths that warmed my soul and made my heart smile all while I was catching thrown sippy cups sailing midair over the pew or rushing out as our toddler loudly proclaimed, "I need t'go potty!".

If life was a nature hike, I feel as if this Sunday, Elder Ballard's talk gave us, as a couple,
a point in our journey where we were able to pause
to look at how far we had come and not be discouraged, but encouraged.
It was an opportunity to look ahead on our journey here on earth and not be daunted, but energized.
Both vistas gave perspective and we were able to see the beauty of our journey both behind us and ahead of us.
Was/is our route perfect? No (wouldn't it be great if it was!), but we're getting better and heading in a great direction with minute changes of God's spiritual compass.
TheMan and I felt encouraged and excited to continue pressing on to become better.
The small and simple things that Elder Ballard spoke of: watch conference, be humble, manage your finances, have couple prayer and scripture study as well as personal, have family night, create lasting family memories, have fun, pray and read the scriptures together as a family, etc. These little things will always lead us closer to Christ. It is by these small and simple things adding up that make great things come to pass.
Elder Ballard stated that these same things are reiterated by the prophet and apostles in General Conference because we, as Saints, need to continue pressing on and doing better at following them before more great mysteries are revealed - like where is Kolob :). That would be pretty interesting, but I've got enough on my checklist right now without getting out the star charts :)! How lucky we are for all that has been revealed in this day and age. I'm thankful for living prophets and apostles.

Birds of a Feather

We flock together. TheMan: Thanks for all the extra special little things you have done the last two weeks! I'm all atwitter. :)