Thanking a Woman for My Father's Day

I just did a post exposing how wonderful Theo is, I seriously couldn't have put in a special order for a better husband and father. But without the help of one special high school girl I would never have had my happily ever after.

Theo wasn't born into the Mormon religion like I was. He grew up in a very strong Christian household, and he had a wonderful example through his mother as to the importance of having Jesus Christ and His gospel in his life. But it wasn't his mother that brought him to me.

In High School Theo was a bit of a rebel who had no interest in going to church anymore. That's when a young Mormon girl caught his attention and they started dating. As the dating turned more serious she began to share her beliefs with Theo. She introduced him to some wonderful missionaries and helped him really experience the Mormon family dynamic between Ward members. Through this young lady Theo accepted the gospel and was baptized.

Well, this young lady had dreams of attending BYU and through her efforts was accepted and prepared to move away for college. She made a decision that ultimately changed my life forever.

She broke up with Theo.

A heartbroken man moved away from his hometown in Georgia, away from his Mormon Ward family and moved to a little town in Alabama to live with his Dad. Instead of wallowing in self pity, or blaming Mormons for his loss, he found his local church house and without knowing a single soul went to church.

He was very active, going to all the Single activities and even came to Institute (a scripture study class for college students) and that is where I first met him. And the rest as they say is history.

Now I have a Temple marriage and 5 beautiful children, all because one girl was steadfast in her beliefs.

I got to met her after we were married, and I wanted to thank her for introducing Theo to the church and then dumping him...heehee....but that might have seemed a little too awkward not knowing her very well and all. I used to blog stalk her hoping one day we would be in the same blogging circle, but then she went private and I no longer can blogdrop (eavesdrop, but through blogging, I just made up that word. =)). But I hope that one day she will know the gratitude I feel towards her and her vigilance in being a good example so that my Theo could become the father of our eternal family.

Professed Pessimist

Denial....it's not just a river in Egypt.

And that is why I am admitting I have a problem. Admitting is the first step in recovery right?

I am a pessimist.

I've kind of known that about myself, but never thought of it as a big deal. I'm not enthusiastic, I'm not a cheerleader, in fact I'm down right sarcastic about other peoples accomplishments sometimes. (I say sometimes, I'm not completely heartless!)

I realized I have a real problem when I had a dream the other night. Theo and I were walking along some remote lakeside, hand in hand. (Maybe my subconsciousness is getting excited about our anniversary get away next month...can't wait!) Then straight out of some romantic movie Theo swoops me off the ground in his arms and we are twirling around laughing out of pure happiness and joy. Then quite suddenly I stop and say, "Something bad is going to happen, I don't like being this happy because something is going to ruin it."

My dream immediately turned into what had the potential to be a nightmare that I woke myself up from before it could really turn to that.

I have a real problem when even in my dreams I can be that cynical. I had the potential to really be happy and I couldn't do it. It's weird because I am happy in real life, but I have this looming fear that because my life is so rosy that something bad is going to happen and turn my world upside down.

Because of that fear I have turned into a real pessimist. I apologize for so many postings blubbering about my blubber. I realize that I need to be thankful for a body that can do what I ask it to do instead of punishing it for not looking the way I want it to look. I'm afraid now that if I don't start appreciating what I have then it will be taken away from me.

So instead of being a negative nanny I'm going to work on conquering my flaws with a positive persona. My cousin posted THIS article on HER BLOG, and within the first paragraph it says;

"people who make positive thinking and laughter a key goal in their lives tend to experience more daily success and happiness than anyone else."

This will be my midyear resolution, to approach life with more positive thinking and laughter. And with this change I really hope....no, I know (bad habits are hard to break) I'll be able to accomplish my goals.

Beggars Can't Be Choosers

Having 5 kids around the house is very taxing on one person alone. I have heard stories of picky couples who won't let the other spouse help out around the house because they don't "do" it the right way. They won't let their spouse fold the clothes, do the dishes and I have even heard of a wife who wouldn't let her husband cut the grass because he can't do it the way that she wants it. If you have the time and energy to make everything perfect the way YOU want it, then more power to you. But I am spent and spread thin and hey, any kind of help is good help.

Thankfully Heavenly Father blessed me with a wonderful husband that understands and goes above and beyond his husband-ly duties.

For example...

He folds the clothes. He may fold them without turning them right side out...yes, even shirts, but he folds them.

He does the dishes. He may not place them in the dishwasher the way I would to get full capacity, but he does them. And I may end up on a treasure hunt looking for my cooking utensils because they are never in the same place twice, but he does it without even asking me if I need help.

He vacuums. And this one he actually does more often than me. I'm so busy trying to make sure that diapers are clean and sippy cups are refilled that I don't think to look at the carpet unless there was a mishap with a bowl of dry cereal or when Hannah tells me she is done with her chips by dumping the crumbs out on the couch. He is really good about just pulling out the vacuum cleaner and doing a quick once over several times a week.

And after all this, plus many other things around the house, he goes outside and does all those manly duties like cutting the grass, weed eating, helping me with my garden, washing and detailing the cars and much, much more!

I would never think of telling him to stop helping just because things aren't done just so. I don't demand that he do it better, or even that he do things my way. In fact I don't ask him to do it at all, he just steps in and helps me with my load.

I guess I'm not much of a beggar then, only because I don't HAVE to beg him for help. Either way, I couldn't choose a better help meet than my Theo.

Kids Say the Darndest Things....

Did I say darndest? I meant mean...they say mean things....

On Monday night for our Family Home Evening we started working on our garden. We discussed how the Prophet has instructed us to have a garden to make us more self reliant and it will also help on food cost. As we were going in and out of the house making our preparations for the garden, out of the blue Miriam, my little know-it-all 5 yr. old says to me, "You should be thinner. If you exercise your belly will go down.".

OUCH!!!

Talk about a self esteem buster! For one thing I just gave birth 5 months ago, and anyone who has known me for a long time knows that I have had a lifelong struggle with my weight. It's a very frustrating uphill battle for me. I'm not the lazy type who sits on the couch with a bag of potato chips on one side and a carton of Blue Bell ice cream on the other. Let me give you a little run down of my week.

Monday- 45 minute Spin class followed by a 45 minute Pilates class
Tuesday- 45 minute run with Upper body weight strengthening
Wednesday- 45 minute Spin class with a kick butt instructor!
Thursday- 45 minute run with Lower body weight strengthening
Friday- 45 minute Spin class and a 75 minute Yoga class right after that

Saturday and Sunday are my rest days.

On top of that I have tried everything from Weight Watchers to the 40-30-30 diet. Currently I am counting calories. And with all this activity and diet plans you want to know how much I have lost in the past 4 months? (I don't count the first month after having a baby because I always drop 20lbs naturally after giving birth.)

NOTHING!!!

So you can see how heartbreaking it is for my little 5 yr. old to tell me that I need to lose weight. And I know it will all take time, but how about throwing me a freaking bone here! A few pounds lost a week is all I ask, something to show for all my hard work and effort!

*sigh*

I don't mean to sound like a whiny baby and I'm not asking for sympathy in the way of encouragement, if you've read my blog before you know how I feel about Cheering on the Fat Girl. I just want answers and results! I guess since Charlotte is our last child I shouldn't stress about it too much. I got nothing but time now, one day my outward appearance WILL reflect the athlete that I believe I am. I just wish that day was sooner than later.

Spring Break 2011

For Spring Break we had a nice take-it-easy week. Theo got the whole week off from work, so we got to just sit around most of the week. It was a nice break. On Friday we had a beach day planned, and we really couldn't have picked a better day! We started off at the gym where Theo and I were able to get our fitness on. (I even coaxed him into taking a Yoga class with me...heehee) Then on the spur of the moment we decided to drive to Dauphin Island and take the ferry across to Gulf Shores. At first arriving at the dock we thought we had made a mistake because there was a line and an estimated wait time of 2 hours! But they had a snack shack with bathrooms that we were able to take advantage of. And also, thanks to our handy dandy DVD player in our Suburban we stayed entertained and hardly a whine escaped our kids lips. We only ended up waiting maybe an hour and a half before we started loading. The first picture is us saying good-bye to Dauphin Island.

The ferry has a deck that you can walk on and watch your ride over. We kept our eyes peeled for some dolphins, but unfortunately didn't see any this time. Oh well! The kids were awesome and only Tobie had to go sit in the car because of feeling sea sick. LOL! So much for his Coast Guard career!

Emma and Hannah loving some sand! That awesome shovel Hannah is holding was taken by our sand neighbors...BOO! How do you not know if you have a giant shovel??? Why would someone pick it up thinking it was theirs? I was really perturbed by the thieving, but at least the kids had fun with what they had and didn't seem to notice.

Look at that beautiful water! It's already warming up to! It was a little chilly when first getting in, but once you were in it was amazing! Love the gulf water....and not a tar ball in sight! =)

Tobie's favorite past time is getting buried in the sand. I made sure I packed him nice and tight so he couldn't move. HAHAHAHA! Good times!

After the beach we went to a famous restaurant in Gulf Shores called Lambert's, Home of the Throwed Rolls! And they do literally throw the rolls at you. You have to catch them, and sometimes you don't. It never fails that one will hit someone on the back of the head, or one is dropped on the floor. But it's all in good fun and the kids love this place.

Miriam having a little too much fun with one of her rolls!

I seriously don't think this picture does it justice, but I told Theo to get a picture of all the food. That table was packed! Along with your meal they also go around to each table with 'fixin's' that you just place on a paper towel while you wait for your real meal to come. That plus the rolls AND your meal equals a TON of food!

It was a great day and a perfect way to end our Spring Break.

Another One Bites the Dust

I've made it a tradition whenever we have a missionary that dies here (dying refers to the missionary coming to the end of their mission) to tease them a bit by making a wedding cake. It's a running joke with missionaries as to how quickly they will get married after their mission. So as a gag I make them a mock wedding cake and they get to keep the topper as a souvenir of their last days of their mission. It's fun for all, and best of all we get to eat cake!

This adorable young man is ending his mission this week. He has been a great missionary and an even better Spanish teacher. See, he is one of the Spanish speaking missionaries in our area that I was lucky enough to go along with the idea of teaching Spanish to the English members of the church so we can bridge that gap between Spanish and English members. So far only two of my sisters and one of their sons has attended, but I really hope it will catch on and the class expands. But to Elder Orgill, Muchas Gracias! Te echaremos de menos!

What To Do On A Date Night

What to do on a date night when you don't have a lot of money....go to the mall and try on funny hats and take pictures of one another! Super fun!!! Try it.