HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Six best years of my life ago, I woke up, got ready, grabbed my temple bag and got married.
That was an amazing day, spring had sprung out just for us. There were some blossoms out and the air was warm with new sunlight. I'm sure they must have taken us aside and tried to give us some advice, but neither Meridy nor I can remember a word of it. I still remember the way the celestial room looked with the sunlight shining in on friends and family assembled to witness something special happen. Magic, the atmosphere was absolute magic. I had never been so high. The Sealer actually began to tremble and quake as he performed the ceremony. I remember them showing us the corridor to the exit. They left us to ourselves for a time. There was a mirror we looked at for a while; something about that moment was very special for me. Then we opened the temple doors to find friends and family awaiting us, supporting us.

Thanks for making me so happy Meridy and for always being my vision. Thanks friends and family for continuing to support us. Thank God for such a mysterious, holy and joyous institution.

Finished

Nate is finished with the Bar (hopefully forever). He feels pretty good about his performance, but we have to wait until April to see the results. Thanks for your prayers and kind words!!!

To Conquer

Nate just left to take the Utah Bar in Salt Lake City. It is on tomorrow and Wednesday. Good luck Nate!!

What Gender is Sheri's Baby: Please Cast your Vote

My friend Sheri finds out what color her baby is today, but she's not going to say what the gender is until more people give their gender vote on her poll on her blog. I want to know what she is having! So if you would like to participate in helping ME (gosh I'm selfish :) )find out what her baby is vote on Sheri's poll: click here.

A Few Good News Minutes

I never take advantage of these in Relief Society, either because I am feeling shy at the moment, or my "Good News Minute" doesn't seem grand enough to share. But it is fun to hear about some good news. So here are three of them in my life at the moment

1) My brother, Aaron, got his mission call!!! He is going to Eugene, Oregon!! Which I think will be the perfect climate for him. And it's far enough away to be different, but close enough that my mom doesn't have to worry about her first missionary being half way across the world. I was going to take his picture opening it, but I forgot my camera (In fact I'm not quite sure where it is, hence no pictures of my kids yet on the blog. I know it is somewhere safe though.), and he would NOT have appreciated me posting it. But he is happy about his call.

2) Not nearly so important, but happy for me, I got a new cell phone! The zero button actually works! I'm so happy. Did I say that already? I bought a pretty cover for it it.

3) Cheryl bought an exercise machine at Bee's Boutique (DI), and while we're living here, I get to use it. So I am exercising again, and inside a warm house too!

Pickles

This post is not really about pickles. Lately, when I'm looking for a creative word to use, I eventually come up short with the word pickles. I don't know why I think of the word "pickles". Maybe it is just so fun to pronounce. Maybe my body secretly needs pickles. People say love is the answer, but maybe it is really "pickles". Elder Bednar did give a really good talk about pickles, once. So maybe it really is a sort of answer. Guess what? This post just turned into a post about pickles.

The truth is that I am really tired. Nate has been gone ALL day in Vegas and I miss him. And he saw a few friends that I am missing very much today. (And to everyone that he didn't see, he loves you too. I am missing ALL of my friends in/"from" Vegas. Especially today).

We had a great Christmas. Someday when I find my camera I will try to post pictures.

Ellie had a great birthday, and Will wishes it was his. My kids are playing pretty well together and sharing their new Christmas. Ellie is having fun at preschool. I was worried that since the Christmas break was so long, she might have some trouble adjusting, but she got right back into it without a glitch. Will loves to play outside lately, I think I keep him inside too much in the winter. My kids are cute, and of course I would say that.

I've been making shrink plastic jewelry which is fun but sometimes frustrating. I've been trying to clean up sometimes. ;) I still want to write some books. I had another interesting dream the other night. I hope it turns into a cool story. It was a pretty cool dream. But I think it has been hard for me to sit down and write my books because then I have to face the fact that I may not be able to actually write a good story, or that other people may not like it, or that I might get stumped, or all of the work it takes. But I'm going to keep it a goal because I think it is important to write these books for some reason. I'm trying not to worry and think in the worst case scenario--this is a personality thing that comes and goes for me. But when it hits it's just like breathing, and the air is somewhat toxic emotionally speaking. I've dealt with it most of my life. I hope someday to be free. I spent too much money on some boots and a pair of jeans. Actually jeans were a good price for what they were--Lucky Brand for only $22, but I didn't really need them. So I was feeling down about that. Then I remembered that my grandma gave me Christmas money that will totally cover it so now I feel a little better. I took another pair of jeans I own today, and made them two sizes smaller. They look pretty good on now. Sewing like that makes me feel powerful. I still like to drink eggnog after Christmas. It is delicious.

There's a little snapshot of how I feel tonight. (In a very tired state.)

Christmas Greetings

I sent out this smilebox as a "Christmas Card" to a whole bunch of people we don't get to see very much anymore. I'm posting it here to catch anyone I missed. If I did miss you, and I'm sure I did miss someone, I'm sorry, and we do love you! (I also may not have your email address).

But also for those who do get to see us, just in case you are interested ;), because we love you too!!!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

He Said/She Said: Church Ball......

Meridy's take on Church Ball:
Takes a long time to play. Children are hard to put to bed by oneself.

Nathan's take on Church Ball:
"Takes a long time to play." ???? Are you kidding me? 6 minute quarters and a 5 minute halftime. I am sorry Meridy had to put the kids to bed by herself (I was astounded she was able to tame the Wild Ones alone), but the game started at 9:00.

Moreover, furthermore and while we're on the subject. I made the comment to Richard Hirschi that church basketball is the most intense sport. He said wrestling is more intense. I said that church wrestling would be the most intense sport. He agreed. Church basketball is cRaaaZy. It is a bad mix of call-your-own-fouls and refereeing. I didn't hear any swearing tonight. That was good, but there was much murmuring about fouls/violations or, alternatively, the lack thereof. The referees had stripy shirts on, so they looked pretty official. I think that helped a little.

Meridy's Take:
Church Wrestling is a BAD idea and not supported by the wives of the Elders' Quorum. Not only will this take more time away from bedtime stories, but it will take DAYS away spent in the ER. And who gets to change the diapers day AND night? The wife. If you are lucky, your oldest daughter. So, now wives and daughters are against Church Wrestling.

Nathan's Take:
The good news is that we won. It took a third quarter buzzer beater from beyond half-court (by Skyler Spendlove) and clutch free throw shooting on my part, but we got the job done. Ok, those are my thoughts on Church Ball.

Meridy's Take:
No, the REAL good news is that Nate came home, uninjured. AND we ate pumpkin frozen dairy dessert, which has half of the fat of regular ice cream, AND it tastes BETTER then unpumpkined regular ice cream.

****Meridy and Nathan love to hear from their readers. You can leave them a comment in their designated commenting section.

Cue the Funeral March (Worst Case Scenario Grand Finale)

Well I have some good news and some bad news and some really bad news. The good news is that three of you answered the first question correctly (answer: a). The bad news is that all of you answered the last question incorrectly (answer: a). The really bad news is that all of you are dead. Hopefully the rest of us can learn from your mistakes so that we can have the glory of winning, being alive, and being socially competent. So here's to you and your noble efforts. Way to take one for the team. Stiff upper lip and all that.

Worst Case Scenario Results and Next Question

Wait. What does that say above the title in small print? Does that say Dec 6th? Really? I could have sworn it was still the 4th.... Sort of takes the "officialness" out of the game doesn't it? Oh well, here we go:

The survivors are:

Anna
Shella
Lori
Sheri
Zach

Your Next Challenge: The dating scene!!! To stir things up you must answer the next 2 questions correctly to stay in.

Question 1:

How to greet your daughter's first date

(a) Shake hands and stare for an uncomfortably long time. If he breaks off and looks away, that's good. You've established dominance. If he stares back, you're in trouble.
(b) Open the door wearing a dirty t-shirt and offer him a beer. If he takes it, you're in trouble.
(c) Ask him point blank if he has ever killed anyone. If he says yes, that's good. He's got a great sense of humor.
(d) Open the door and act like you've never heard of whomever he asks for. If he laughs at the prank, that's a good sign.

Question 2:

How to walk through a revolving door on a date

(a) The man goes first, pushing the revolving door to get it started.
(b) Regardless of the type of door, the lady always goes first!
(c) The man goes in first to get the door revolving, exits the door, allows the lady to enter and then follows behind her.
(d) Look first for a handicapped entrance to the side of the revolving door. If there is one, avoid the trouble of the revolving door altogether. The man opens the door for the lady. If there is no side entrance, turn around and go eat somewhere else.

The survivors will be regally announced on the Ninth Day of December, Two Thousand and Nine, as the clock strikes twelve pm. Really. They will.