Lately and Do You Believe in Miracles?

Man, I know I already said that I hate Daylight Savings, but I still do. The kids are still waking up early and the dark evenings are making me feel like it should be bedtime at 6 pm. Actually tonight we decided, "The kids are waking up so early, we might as well put them down early"

Why hello there, 6:30 bedtime!

Ava has been such a great version of herself these days. She doesn't seem to mind school and her reading is improving so much. I went up to the school to volunteer for the Turkey Trot yesterday. Physical activities are definitely not her forte. It's hard for me to watch sometimes, because those types of physical activities always came naturally and were a great source of enjoyment and accomplishment for me as a child. Sometimes I worry that she's missing those things. But as a stood on the side of the track cheering for the kids and watching as they ran/walked lap after lap, a girl walked up to me and stopped.

"Whose mom are you?"

"I'm Ava's mom"

"Oh, Ava! She is my friend. She was in my class last year. Ava is so kind."

It came to me then that if I could pick one quality or talent for my daughter to possess, that would probably be my first choice.

She is so in love with dolphins and horses right now. She draws picture after picture and writes book after book featuring both animals.

Luke is also growing and blooming. His writing skills have just exploded. He loves to "do homework" right alongside Ava. Which usually entails him writing the alphabet or numbers to 20. I love to hear him work because he generally sings the song and writes letter by letter.

"ABCD...E! E comes next!"

Then he writes it down and begins again pointing to each letter as he sings, "ABCDE...F! F comes next!" And then he writes his F. And he does the same thing with his numbers.



He pronounces zero, "cereal" which he explained is aptly named because cheerios have the same shape as the number.

It's amazing how helpful it is to have your child be able to get themselves entirely ready, which is something he can now do. At night when I kiss him goodnight I want to hug him and squeeze him and tell him that I appreciate the fact that he gets himself dressed, that he doesn't care if the seams on his socks are crooked, that he wears whatever is in his drawer, and that he doesn't need ice in his water to be able to drink it. Of course I love my other child who doesn't fit that same bill, but Luke sure is nice to have around.

Max just had his two year old post right down there and he continues to run me right out of patience and energy. I wanted to take his pictures today but he somehow managed to get a gigantic scrape on his face so we'll have to postpone them a while.

The best thing he's doing these days is saying, "To Amon!" Which took me a few days to realize was his version of "To infinity and beyond!" My other favorite is "fruit poops" (fruit loops) which along with me desperately missing Ava's 2 year old version of movies, ("boobies") probably means that I should still be in fourth grade because I, apparently, still have a soft spot for bathroom humor.


Dan and I have been squeaking by on a little less sleep and staying very busy. I've been working steadily on house projects, and I can't see an end in sight. Which, in a way, is good because I enjoy them. But I also enjoy checking things off my list, so actually finishing something would feel good right about now, instead of juggling 50 different, half way done things.

Earlier this week after Luke was at preschool, Max and I headed to my parents to make use of my dad's table saw. As I drove I organized my ideas and wrote in my mind, which is generally what I find myself doing when I'm alone with my thoughts. I had something really good going. As soon as I could I needed to write it out so I wouldn't forget it. But now I cannot remember what it was.

I drove down the two lane road, cars in front and cars in back, at about 45-50mph. Cars were coming at the same rate and frequency in the other direction. And then I can hardly explain what happened next. A truck was coming towards me in the other lane. I watched the giant ladder it was carrying start to sway. It went back and forth and then like a sideways pendulum and was coming straight at me. As I said, there were cars in front and behind me, this truck and ladder to my left and a steep drop off to my right. And the fact that it all happened in the space of about 2 seconds, left me no options. I am not exaggerating when I say that I gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles, saw a close-up of the metal ladder directly on the other side of the windshield right before I closed my eyes, and thought, I am going to die.

But the impact never came. I have no way to explain how that ladder not only didn't crash right into my face, it didn't even touch my car. I looked up in time to see it hit the road right behind me in my rear view mirror. It might seem like a lucky bounce or maybe I overreacted, but I know differently.

I was immediately overcome and tears rolled down my cheeks like rain. I have never felt so close to dying. And I also can't adequately explain how I felt. There was shock and fear and relief and gratitude. Mostly gratitude to a watchful Father in Heaven.

I pulled up and ran into my dad's arms and tried to explain the whole thing. All I know now is that I am alive and I am supposed to be, because there is no physical explanation for what happened.

It's probably not right to shove this personal and spiritual experience right in next to fruit poops, but that is life. At least that is my life. There really isn't much separation between the facets of my life. This regular, old, crazy life of ups and downs and ins and outs that I am feeling extra grateful for right now.