simple pleasures and surprises

i'm happy to be here.

we made it! it was a long 2 days but it feels so good to be home.  we had a safe trip and only a few minor hold-ups. avery and i had slightly different tickets than everyone else that sent us to dallas late last night instead of spending the night in miami.  i was a little apprehensive about that whole set up, traveling by myself with a toddler and tons of luggage (pretty much our lives for the last year plus car seat and stroller stuffed into suitcases) so my mother in law changed her ticket to come help me out since we would be staying in dallas for 12+ hours.  we got lucky that we came to dallas last night because the rest of the family that stayed the night in miami got stuck there all morning, had to rearrange flights and wont make it to SLC until super late tonight. 

there have been so many simple pleasures we've been able to enjoy since landing in the U.S. yesterday.

-i watched the most amazing lightening storm from the sky last night. prettiest things i've seen in a long time.

-i slept in a bed instead of on an airplane and woke up feeling refreshed instead of jet lagged.

-i ate a huge bowl of cold cereal with real milk this morning.  it has never tasted better.

-i bought american food and treats for avery in the airport that i didn't know were possible to miss.

-i flew over so many mountains covered in snow that seemed more beautiful to me than miles of beach and palm trees.

-i got butterflies in my stomach the minute our airplane touched ground in salt lake.

-i loved flushing toilet paper down the toilet instead of tossing it in the garbage. (sick but true)

-i drank the biggest cup of root beer. really the only pop i love and missed.

-i cried a little bit when i saw my parents at the airport and watched them with avery as she gave them her special card she made.

-i washed my face in warm water and it was lovely.

-i talked to my sisters on the phone instead of skype.

-i drank water out of the tap instead of a culligan-like filter.

the list could go on and on, but i think its clear we're glad to be home.  

oh, this is a little peak at what avery's super homemade special card said:

 october 16th, and we couldn't be happier.

loving lately

just a few things that i have been loving lately.

my kindle.  we dont have too many english book stores available here in brasil, but this little gadget has been the greatest replacement for bookstores. i occasionaly miss holding a real book, but very rarely. i have read so many books over the last few months.  what are some of your favorites. i'm almost done with my current book and don't have one on my waiting list.

pinterest.  i started using pinterest a few months ago and am still slightly addicted.  i think of it as collection of favorite magazine clipping, but online and much neater and organized.  most of you have probably jumped on the bandwagon, but if you havent and want an invitation to join, give me your email address.

mindy gledhill. her music is so calm and refreshing. i'm loving it and could listen to it on replay for hours.

moraccon oil.  greatest hair product i own.  it has been so fabulous here in brasil.  i think i can count on 2 hands the number of times i've blow dryed and straightened my hair while living here.  the result isnt always the prettiest hair, but its way too humid to dry it and make it more brittle just to have the humidity get ahold of it an hour later.  magic in a bottle.

these shoes.  i'm still undecided on regular toms.  i know i'm a year or two behind, but i've been out of the loop for a while in brasil and i just decided i am loving their wedges.  if they are as comfortable as everyone says the regular shoes are, or close, i think they might be winners and something i'll have to get when i get home. am i missing out by not trying the normal toms?

and of course, i am loving these two.  they have made the last year in brasil so bearable and fun.  they both make me laugh on a regular basis and make my heart beat a little bit faster everyday.  i love them most of all.

(taken during trae and ave's late night swim the other day)  

from trash to treasure

okay, it never really was trash, but it only got used maybe once a year during homecoming week on 80's day.  this beauty was my great grandma phyllis beck's pant suit.  she passed away when i was a year and a half.  i have one picture with her when we were newborns wearing this same outfit.  I never knew her, although i've heard so many things about her, i wish i did.  from what i hear she was such a classy and fancy lady.  

the last time i was visiting home a few months ago i was straightening up the play room at my moms and was picking up the dress-up box that avery had rummaged through. i saw this pant suit and the vision came to me.  when i first asked my mom if i could have it and make it a dress, her first response was no, that was grandma beck's, you cant cut it up and change it.  a few seconds passed and she changed her mind.  and i am so happy she did.  she said she would much rather have one of her daughters use it for real, instead of just for dress up and play once a year. i packed it up and brought it to brasil with me and had a talented lady in our stake fix it up for me.  ten dollars later (yeah, that's all!) and i have myself a fancy new dress.  i'm quite in love with it.   it has an real old fashioned flair to it but the color, the fit, the sleeves are perfect and just what i imagined it looking like 5 months ago.

here's a 4 generation picture when meag and i were tiny and my mom was a baby with my grandma garrard and great grandma beck

trae can't believe i'm acutally putting this picture on here, but it's the only way to see the transformation.  those sleeves seriously could have fit my leg through them.  i had already unstitched the pant legs so i pinned it back together for pictures sake and ended up with a super blurry result.  i figure its probably better that way.

here's the final result, obviously.  the elastic waistband isn't in the most flattering position so i belted the dress today and loved it.

i'm already hoping i beat my sisters to the dress up box when i go home in a few weeks to see what other kinds of treasures i've overlooked.  i love that i now have this little memory of my great grandma even though i never got to know her, and super cute new dress.

25 years!

todays my birthday! YAY! i've had a great day so far. lunch date with Mr. Jones and shopping with my mother in law- where i scored a new pair of shoes. tonight we're going out for dinner to pizza hut. (i chose the same place for my birthday last year- tastes just like pizza hut from home and hits the spot everytime.) i love that birthdays get a little more quiet and simple as you get older, i'm a simple girl. ave's been giving the most wonderful birthday hugs and kisses all day and she made the cutest card while trae and i were out and about and was so proud of it... she drew a circle and a square and colored pictures of our little family amongst scribbles. {random but funny, today while shoe shopping ave was keeping all the employees busy while trying every single shoe her little hands could get ahold. she found the brightest orange shoes with the biggest heel i've ever seen and waltzed around in them til she toppled over. after she fell, she giggled and said "mom, i fell on those carrots. those carrot shoes made me fall." what a goof}

anyways, back to birthdays, i opted for no presents from trae until we get home. i was so not in the mood for brasilian gear and my suitcase has zero extra space for our trip home, make that negative zero space now that i have another pair of high heels, we're in trouble. also, i couldn't come up with one single thing i wanted/needed.  this coming from the girl who usually has a mile long list to choose from.  so what are your favorite things that maybe i've been missing out on since living in brasil the past year, i need suggestions.

but my most favorite part about my birthday is that i share it with meag.  Heavenly Father sure knew what he was doing when he put us together.  He must have known how terribly bad we needed eachother.  That girl can run a half marathon with the best of them, grow a garden like i've never seen, have a bad hair day and still look amazing and is the very best friend I have. I am so glad that after meag was born 25 years ago, much to my parents suprise, that doctor said "i think there's another baby in there," and 7 minutes later i was born. I needed meag and i think she needed me.  25 years with her have been pretty amazing.  I can not wait to live on the same continent as her again, let alone the same state.  Happy Birthday pretty girl.  I love you Meag!!

(i'm at a serious lack of pictures with just meag and i.  we've clearly been away from eachother too long, 

here's one blurry picture with us and the kiddos and one back from college days)

i love this face (2)

i have been a slightly pathetic blogger. forgive me? we are getting trunky and ready to go home.  we have had a great time but our little family is ready for something new. only 27 days. we made ourselves a count down chain last night but it's not really supressing the 'cant wait to be home' feelings. ave has been having occasional breakdowns over how much she misses home and wants to go to grandma and grandpas house and play in the snow or jump on the tramp or feed papas cows or eat nemo fruit snacks and spaghettios with grandma, etc.. i am amazed at how she holds onto those few memories of grandpa and grandmas house and now craves them.

 i remembered this post the other night while ave was sitting on my bed.  take one was slightly more animated but this one is funny too. i don't know why i always choose to do it with food on her face, no shirt, and crazy hair, but sometime thats our life.  if only you could see the personality behind these faces.  the other day when i was telling avery something she said "mom, i don't understand you" with a sassy little attitude.  feelings are mutual sweet girl.  i wish i knew every little thing that went on in that mind of hers but instead i just laugh at her hilariousness.  

i can't wait for my family to see how much she has grown up over the last 4-5 months.  she is a total spit-fire. i'm pretty sure that living with a house full of teenagers has taught her a little extra sass and attitude and most days don't pass without a battle or two. but today she has been the most pleasant thing and i've loved every single second of her.  right now she is in love with us making up stories for her before naps and bedtime.  her dad is far more creative than i am.   i could listen to him make up stories for her every night and listen to her giggle at how silly they are, while wondering how i got so lucky. how did i? its even cuter to listen to her make up stories or try to retell her daddies stories while she reads books to her dolls and stuffed animals.  

oh the life of a 2 year old.

i have to speak in church again this Sunday.  2 times in less than a year.  is that normal?  pretty sure i'm gonna have trae stand up with me and translate some of it.  i've done the type my talk in portuguese and read straight off the paper route one time already and frankly, my portuguese hasn't improved a ton since then.  this way i can focus a little more on the content and saying what i'm thinking rather than wondering if what i just said was even a word or made sense. 

trae is still sick of being sick but hopefully on the up-side of it all.  he is seriously the best dad. ave is head over hills for him and has him wrapped around her little finger and i am more in love with him every single day.  right now as i type, trae just told ave that he needed to go take his medicine and ave got all sad and said "oh, are you not feeling berry good dad.  do you need a kiss?  mom, he needs a kiss?" i think ave and i better go kiss him better.  that doesn't sound too bad to me.

um ano. one year.

we made it. one year down.  now, if i were a missionary it would be our hump day, but thankfully our one year mark wasn't just the halfway point. we only have 5 weeks left.  i dont know really how to sum up my thoughts of living in brasil. it was much different than i expected, good and bad. perhaps when we leave for good i'll give a more detailed thought summary of our experience here.  

since coming back in january we've  had kind of a rough go, well, trae has had a rough time.  we came back and moved into our new apartment that is soooo nice. unfortunately, everything is not so nice. pretty much since the day we came back trae has been sick. we can probably count on one hand the days that he has felt 100%.  first we thought it was the flu, then just a bad cold, then we were convinced it was an allergy to our air conditioner or something like that.  we tried sleeping with out the air on (so not fun in this climate) and trae tried to sleep in other rooms and the living room. no one was really affected except for trae.  the only place where he is okay is out in the living room and kitchen where there are lots of window.  we are now pretty much 100% convinced that trae is allergic to mold. living in a beyond humid climate you pretty much cant avoid it, but it just doesn't have an affect on anyone but him.  he has gotten 5 boils in the last month or so as a result of the allergy and infection in his body on top of nauseousness and other allergy symptoms . he has tried about every kind of allergy medicine and drops and antibiotics.  we havent slept in the same bed for well over a month now because he cant sleep in any of the rooms so he sleeps out on the couch or the hammock with out an air conditionar and averages way too little sleep each night.  certainly not ideal.  we are both SO sick of him being sick. its obviously not fun.  but we are dealing with it and are on the countdown for the return to normalcy.  bless his heart. seriously.

we didn't really do anything to celebrate one year here. well, i had 4 maple bars for breakfast, ave filled up on leftover frosting, and i took a nap until avery kissed me and said 'wake up sleeping beauty,' while trae went to see a doctor, played soccer and did seminary visits (he's our wards seminary teacher, along with 2 other callings, like i said, bless his heart).  pretty relaxing.
and that is just fine with me.

because i am a mom

i can not think of the right words that really express my feelings about getting to be a mom.  

i can not think of a better thing i could be doing with my time and energy.

i can not be good at everything.

i can not thank my own mother enough for teaching me how to be a mom.

i can not think of any one thing that would bring me greater joy than raising this little girl.

i can not always give my children what they want.

i can not express enough thanks to my mother in law for raising my husband.

i can not always handle the pressures and frustrations properly.

i can not always be super nice.

i can not fully comprehend all of the blessings i receive from choosing to be a mom.

i can not completely protect my children from the wicked world.

i can not do it all.

  but

i can tell my little girl how much i love her multiple times a day.

i can thank my father in heaven each day for blessing me with his precious daughter.

i can continue to learn from my mother and hopefully one day be the mom that she is today.

i can find ways to make our family happier.

i can prepare my little girl to be a mother one day.

i can make a mean grilled cheese and cup of chocolate milk.

i can thank the many generations of mothers that have shaped who i am today.

i can be an example to others.

i can show my children how to love, forgive, laugh and to serve.

i can whipe off tears and clean dirty bums.

i can pray for the Spirits help to be a better wife and mom.

i can teach my children.

i can begin to understand how much love a heart has to give.

because i am a mom.

(the best easter picture we could come up with)

thank you to all the moms in my life. i am blessed and happy.

``few of us with reach our potential without the nurturing of both the mothers who bore us and the mothers who bear with us.`` 

-sheri l. dew

happy mothers day!