Mommy's Trip to Boston

I had a wonderful five day trip to Boston for work and was so sad that you and Daddy weren't with me. Boston is so different than Texas and I was just so taken with the architecture, the food, the history, the weather! I would love to take you guys back there in a few more years so we can all enjoy it together. Especially since I kept hearing about how short of a drive it is to get to a ton of other states nearby! What a crazy idea, that a two hour drive can put you in a totally different state!

So here are a few of my favorite pictures from my trip. This is the amazing view from my hotel room:

The highlight of my trip was definitely the afternoon that I got to take a bike tour with UrbanAdventours. We did a seven mile ride on both sides of the river and along the harbor. It was fun to see some of the famous sights like this (fairly) new suspension bridge...

And the Garden where the Bruins play. I guess they are kind of big deal, winning the Stanley Cup and all.

It was certainly nice to be somewhere that isn't suffering through triple digit heat and water restrictions!

I loved getting to see Fenway Park! I will admit that sometimes I am surprised that I can manage to navigate a big city by myself, but I had a quick and uneventful ride on the subway followed by a leisurely stroll around the entire stadium. It was a quiet evening, too late to take an actual tour, but a local told me about Bleacher Bar. It actually sits under the Green Monster and has a garage door that rolls up so you can look into the stadium. Very cool and the food was pretty good too!



But the best sight of all was your adorable new (pink) Red Sox hat on your smiling face!

I will try not to hold it against you for too long that when I picked you up from school and told you how much I missed you, your reply was, "I missed you a little bit small." Seriously!?!?!?!?

Your First Trip to the Beach

Bad Mommy! We had a wonderful weekend trip to the beach and I have almost no photos to show for it. One reason is that the humidity would fog up the camera lens right away, but mostly we were just enjoying spending time together and never stopped to snap a pic.

Daddy picked us out a wonderful condo in Port Aransas for the weekend. We stayed at the Grand Caribbean, which had a great pool and a convenient walk to the beach. This is from their website:

We arrived just in time for a yummy seafood dinner on Friday night and were very proud of how well you tolerated the drive. You were super excited to see the Gilbreaths and played with Ainslee while we waited for our table. You even tried calamari that Daddy ordered with zero hesitation! He asked if you wanted to try some octopus and you munched right down on one that had squiggly legs and all! You even said that you liked it afterwards! "He was crunchy!"

We woke up the next morning to lots of clouds so we ate breakfast and got everyone ready, only to be stuck in our room for another few hours until the sun came out. Unfortunately, Mommy forgot to put suncreen on herself (the rain threw us all off) and after only two hours outside, I got a horrible sunburn on pretty much my entire upper body... That put a damper on the rest of the day! We did get a chance to walk the beach looking for shells (not many) and watch the waves. The storm really made for some big ones!

But you took a great nap and spent the late afternoon and evening building sand castles and chasing seagulls. We were even joined by Cara's sister and her husband, Trevor. You had a great time playing with the two of them and Ainslee.

Before we headed home on Sunday, we spent a bit more time in the water at a different condo where our friends, Kevin and Lisa were staying. You are so cute to make new friends everywhere you go, and you met two teenage girls that carried you all over the pool and had a blast with you. Mommy was thankful to find a comfy chair in the shade! Then we hopped a ride on the ferry to head off the island and back home. You even yelled as we drove off, "Bye bye beach! I love you!"

We had such a great weekend and hope we can do it again next year! Then you three girls will be all over the place!

What I Learned in Manti

My trip to Utah was both mentally and physically exhausting. We traveled super early on Tuesday morning and still had a full day of things to do. We immediately went to Temple Square in Salt Lake City, and I have to say it is beautifully built and cared for, but it was a little creepy. As one friend pointed out to me, if something is directing people away from God, it is pointing them to Satan. We certainly had some kind and interesting discussions with the two girls escorting us, but I was most disturbed when we talked about the importance of the temple to one's salvation and the majority of people aren't even considered worthy to go in there!

Also, one of the most thought provoking stops of the day was the temple bookstore where we saw tons of books on Mormon doctrine and their study manuals. I purchased a few things to use as references and most of them are horribly depressing to read since the standard of perfection weighs so heavily on most practicing LDS people. I mean, look at this "plan of salvation" and tell me what is missing...

Hello, no mention of Jesus! They are very works focused, believe that Jesus' grace is not sufficient, they have very distorted views of where we came from, who God and Jesus are, and especially where we go after we die. It has truly strengthened my faith to read what the Bible says about all those things to understand how it is very different.

Fortunately, God has allowed me to learn from incredible teachers that are strong in their faith and unashamed of the gospel. I met wonderful Christian families in Utah that are called to be ministers in a sea of Mormons, even though they are probably outnumbered 100 to 1. I met people brave enough to leave the LDS church, separating from their families and friends and probably enduring heartbreaking persecution. And I met very convinced Mormons that had no idea that the counterfeit gospel they are being taught is actually leading them to what they call "outer darkness."

And even now that we are home, I am continuing to learn. We have met with three missionaries in our home and are hosting them again for dinner. I believe that God teaches you things and puts people in your life because he expects you to take action. I can no longer say that I am not accountable to try and witness to Mormons. It has opened my eyes to a whole new harvest, one that I have been equipped to work for. I pray that I will continue to be faithful in studying the Bible, learning its truth, and doing what it says.

Why I Went to Manti

Come back, May!

I know Daddy would not agree with me on this one, but June came way too fast. And now he is finished with school until August and I have to get myself up and ready in the morning before him and WHY IS IT SO UNFAIR? I know he is super excited that you guys will get to hang out in the afternoons and go swim at the pool and hit up Sea World. I just have to say that if you are going to be married to a teacher, you should just be a teacher yourself. It is so not cool to not have two months of vacation when your spouse does.

The other reason that I can't believe June snuck up on me is that I am headed to Utah in just a little over one week. We have certainly talked alot in our training sessions about what Mormons truly believe and how to ask the appropriate questions to get them thinking. But I know that there is no way I could ever be prepared enough to just strike up conversations and not crash and burn. My dear friend Kara, who is going with me, said that this first year is really the time to fall flat on our faces and realize that God has to do the work for us. Maybe we will be better after we make some mistakes and learn from them.

You however, are probably thinking summer is the greatest thing ever. You have already gotten to do so many fun things and skip out on being at school all day. Lately you have become so talkative! We thought you talked alot before, but MAN, you are a constant chatterbox and frequently ask us "why?" over and over and over. You are so independent and refuse to let us help you with getting dressed or brushing your teeth. We still have some battles over using a fork and not sticking your fingers in your mouth, but you generally have good manners and don't have to spend your days in time out.

I love that you are a bit more of a snuggler, and you still love to be silly and wrestle with Daddy. You are a great cook in your pretend kitchen, where you make coffee and brownies most often (my kind of hostess!) You are still a great eater, and you love friuts and most vegetables. I am really trying to not allow you to be a picky eater, so I imagine we might have a few showdowns when you don't want to eat something. If you had your way, we would be eating pizza every night of the week!

You are still super sweet at bedtime when we have to come rub your back and sing a few songs. I love reading books with you and seeing you read along with the parts you have memorized. This month we also celebrated Mother's Day, which you of course decided should be "Daddy's Day" instead. But I love to see how much you love and adore each other. We tell you all the time that you are our best girl!

All my love,
Mama

Try to Never Grow Up

Dora Does the Hard Parenting

Cameron,
You gave up on your pacifier at about 4 months, but for some reason, you decided that your left thumb was just right. You can't lose it or drop it or forget it somewhere. You learned to soothe yourself right to sleep with it and often zoned out to Sesame Street by sucking on it. But Daddy and I realized that it might not be the best habit to keep forever and we wondered if it would be a difficult thing for you to give up.

At some point, I told Daddy that the only techniques that I knew of for getting kids to stop sucking on their fingers were those icky pastes or hot sauces meant to instantly revolt you. But I hated to do that when you are still so little and it seems harmless.

But apparently, Daddy thought it was now or never. So one night, he stuck a Dora bandaid on your thumb. You two talked about how Dora doesn't want you to suck on your thumb because it can be bad for your teeth and that you are a big girl now.

The first night, you laid in bed for a while because you had no idea how to put yourself to sleep. You talked and sat up and played with your animals for at least an hour. I was mortified that we embarked on this SURELY HORRIBLE journey on a weeknight when we all had to get up the next day. But eventually, you fell asleep. The next morning, we took the bandaid off and it was just another normal day. We did the bandaid for about three nights in a row and no kidding, you just stopped.

We haven't really had to remind you about it, you don't do it anymore while watching TV, and when I peek in on you at night, you usually have your arms up above your head or curled up under you. It's like it was no big thing.

Apparently we just need to bring Dora in on all our future parenting decisions. She knows how to run the show.

Stripping Away the Old

Cameron,
I have been thinking about something sort of heavy, and sometimes the best way I process things is to write them down. So let's just talk this one out, okay?

Yesterday was Mother's Day and I started to sit down in the afternoon and just read and maybe take a nap. Your daddy was grading papers and you were down for a nap. I was looking forward to relaxing, but your daddy reminded me of a project that I have been wanting to tackle for a while and just keep putting off. I have this beautiful buffet cabinet that sits in the dining room. When I bought it about 5 years ago, it had been refinished in a brick red paint. We used it for a dresser for a while, but when we moved to this house, I wanted it to be repainted to match the bright green chairs that I painted for the small table. Plus, it will totally make the green "pop" in the photograph that hangs over its spot.

So your daddy reminded me that I should not waste this free time and that I should get busy on it. But once I got started, I realized it was no small task. To truly do a good job painting, I had to sand off all the old paint to get down to the natural wood underneath. It was messy and tiring and did not go quickly. We eventually moved on to using a chemical stripper, but that still required scraping and two coats and more sanding at the end.

It reminded me of a new friend that I made this past week. I have been learning alot about the Mormon faith lately and am attending trainings once a week now for the trip to Utah in June. It is really giving me a heart for Mormon people that are pushed to be perfect, obey but not think critically, and constantly work for their forgiveness and salvation rather than rely on Jesus and grace. On Thursday, I met a woman who I will just call T. She came to our meeting and told us she is currently a member of the Mormon church, and a pretty darn perfect one at that. Both hers and her husband's parents are active Mormons, she went to BYU, was married in the temple (sealed for all eternity...) and her husband did a 2 yr. mission. But this past January, she realized that she didn't have a testimony that the Mormon faith was true and she started to ask questions. And that is never good. She was rebuked and told to stop asking questions. She researched the beginnings of the Mormon church and was shocked to find out unsettling truths about Joseph Smith. She began to realize that her entire religious life was based on lies and misleadings.

She inspired me with her bravery to not just accept things that people were telling her, but to seek out the truth for herself. She may be confused for a little while, but she wants to know Jesus and the Bible for herself. She wants to understand what God's word, and not Joseph Smith's, says about salvation and forgiveness. I told her when we met for the first time that she is the reason I am going on the trip - to meet and pray for women that are stuck in a lifestyle where they are told to follow blindly and work constantly to earn their way to their own planet so that they and their husband can become gods. Totally 100% serious on that.

And as I was working on that piece of furniture, I realized that T is taking on the same sort of endeavor. My furniture was working just fine and some people might have thought it was best to just leave it alone. Besides, it was way too messy to start taking it all apart and changing things up. But I knew what I wanted and just couldn't settle for something else.

T might think that the more she digs down to find answers, the messier things get. She might even wish that she had never opened this can of worms, but she will know that she can't leave things half done. To help the new color stick, she has to strip away all of the old. She has to understand all the lies that she has been told so that she can make way for the truth to sink in. It will not be a fast process. But the finished product will be beautiful and one-of-a-kind.

I pray that both she and I will have determination to see things through to the end. I know my task in painting is insignificant, but the journey I am on to learn and understand how to minister to those in the Mormon faith will last long after I am home from the Miracle Pageant in June. I can't wait to see T again since she seems so eager to learn about Christianity and the Bible. Pray that she will be strong in the face of resistance from her friends and family, that she will know Jesus is the only truth for her.

I am so thankful to be part of a church that encourages me to study, to learn, to discuss and to share my knowledge. I am even more thankful for Evidence Ministries, that they can guide me through this process and serve as loving examples to me. Someday, I hope you will see the wonder of the Bible for yourself and love it the way I do. Not because I tell you to or pressure you, but because you are your own person with a wonderful inquisitive mind.

Praying for you and for T,
Mama

Mudders Day 2011

I had a wonderful Mother's Day with you, sweetheart! You are the reason I get to celebrate today, and I am so thankful that God has allowed me to be your mommy. You are more than I ever dreamed of.

I am so happy that we spent the whole weekend together. I got lots of hugs and kisses and snuggles, and they were better than any gift in the world. Although I did get a pretty awesome water softener.... Thank you, Cameron and Daddy! I sure do love you.

Where did April go?

Confession: I have not been keeping up with blogs in so long, I had to take a second to remember my password just to log in!

So sorry baby doll! We have had a crazy month, and I hope that you appreciate Mommy being there rather than just typing away all the time. Let's see what we need to recap:

Grammy bought herself a beautiful little house!

She was truly blessed to know the builder, who lived in the house for a year while he was building another one, and he gave her an incredible offer once he understood her situation. She was so blown away that she could afford to pay cash for the house. She keeps telling me that she really didn't think she would be able to get a house this nice, and I just keep telling her that she needs to dream a little bigger for herself!

She has officially moved in and is slowly accumulating more things. She has some great furniture, TVs (no cabinet to put them on...) and we got her one special touch as an early Mother's Day gift. I had a sign made for her with this scripture on it:

Let my soul be at rest again, for the Lord has been good to me. Psalm 116:7

We got to make a quick trip up to see the house and deliver her some furniture a few weeks ago, then we were back a few weeks later for Easter. We had a great visit with your great grandma Stella too!

You had such a great time seeing all the family and hunting eggs. Of course, Mommy forgot your Easter dress at home and we had to borrow one of Emerson's... And then you tripped over a garden hose while we were hunting 80,000 eggs (I come from a family of over-doers!) at my grandparent's house, leaving you with a huge scrape on your nose and lip. I think Aunt Rachael took some great pictures before the face-plant, so we need her to hook us up. I didn't take any after that!

Then the next weekend, your daddy left town to go play in the annual Bilbo golf tournament that his family does for charity every year. Apparently the weather was going completely crazy (unbelievable winds, then super hot, and freezing cold the next day) so they didn't have as much fun playing as they hoped. But any chance for Daddy to have a whole weekend to hang out with Chad is a good one in his book! A least we got to see Gigi and Grandpa the weekend before for her birthday. You even practiced your Aggie "Gig 'Em!"


Since us girls had to stay home, Grammy and Aunt Rachael came to visit us! I really needed their help since you accidentally sprained your ankle on Wednesday night at the playground. You somehow came down the slide at just the wrong angle and the toe of your shoe caught on the ground and twisted your ankle up and around. It was just stuck there while you were screaming for a few seconds and I felt horrible. We realized quickly that it was serious and you were refusing to walk on it.

At least you got to enjoy some pampering by Daddy in our big bed...

You spent Thursday morning with me at work (we squeezed in a quick check-up with your doctor) and fortunately Chad let you hang out with him that afternoon before they left town. Even he said that he figured you would walk on it once I wasn't around, but you were pretty consistent with telling us where it hurt and not putting any weight on it. Let me tell you, it is super fun to carry a 30 lb. girl back and forth to the bathroom every time she tells you she has to go!

Friday you toughed it out with me at office again in the morning until we could go get some xrays. I couldn't believe that I was going to spend an hour waiting with a two-year old, but I knew that if anything was wrong I would feel horrible later. I really wasn't surprised to hear that everything looked normal, but at least it eliminated the mommy guilt. :)

Fortunately, once Aunt Rachael and Grammy were here, you were much more interested in them. Emerson and Ryan were so much fun to have as company. Mom and Rachael and I did lots of shopping on Sunday and were so glad to get to spend time talking and catching up. It was such a huge help to have them here because I had my big auction for work on Saturday night and you had to spend most of the day home without me. (It went great by the way, raising $50,000!)

And all month long, you kept us laughing and thankful for you. Even when you cried the last 20 minutes of our drive home from Abilene and made Mommy cry too. (Poor Daddy, he was trying to hurry!) Especially when you got confused when a lady gushed over the "little girl with the orange hair" and you made sure she knew you had RED hair. Especially when you packed up half of pantry in reusable shopping bags and left them by the front door, since you were obviously headed somewhere important with hungry people. Even when you had to sleep in bed with Mommy so Emerson could have your bed and you ended up with your feet in my face. Sigh.

You have been having a rougher time at daycare lately, with your teachers graciously telling us that you have hit someone or have been super fussy lately. Sometimes I wonder if you play with the boys too much and have picked up their habits. Or if you don't like being in a class with so many kids instead of more personal attention. Mostly your teachers describe you as the mother hen that bosses everyone else around. Wonder where you get that from?

You are certainly independent - everything is "I do it by myself!" Putting your jammies on, brushing teeth, putting lids on your cup, flushing the toilet... So much excitement! I think we need to come up with some new challenges for you. You know all your letters and are constantly asking what letter certain words start with. Maybe some sight word flash cards? Hmmm, I will work on that.

Mommy