Snack Time

This kid will eat absolutely anything except cream of wheat. Dirt, dried out bread, meatballs, you name it. He's phasing out of baby food though, so hopefully I can finish off what we have.

My souvenirs from the freezer fix. If only I'd kept the old compressor too, I'd have all the main parts to have one giant broken fridge.

Peek-a-boo!

This is the only picture I can get to upload right now. I moved Will into the kitchen in his high chair to be a part of the action, and when I went behind him to do something, he didn't want to be left out.
I'll upload the rest one of these days.

I'm Thankful for...

Sometimes Sam gets us laughing pretty hard when he's listing what he's thankful for in his prayers. Some of my personal favorites are:

• firetrucks
• thingamadoodles
• drawing and painting
• dressers
• chairs
• beds
• my family
• trudon...dinosaur (maybe pteranodon? he said he saw it on a show)
• Jesus killing pirates

The last one is definitely my favorite. Where does he come up with this stuff? I love it.

Amazing Heritage

On Sunday I gave a YW lesson on heritage. I shared something from my heritage that is very special to me. [Preface: Mike's ancestor William Clayton (author of Come, Come Ye Saints, & Will's namesake) served a mission in England.] My ancestors William and Jane (Johnston) Black had moved from Ireland to England, and were listening to the Mormon missionaries preach in someone's cellar. William and Jane believed the missionaries and were baptized...by Elder William Clayton!

They immigrated to America and crossed the plains to Utah. Jane Johnston Black is my hero! I can't wait to meet her some day. There are lots of fantastic stories about her and her amazing courage, but my favorite was her conversation with a mob member. The mob militia was disarming the Saints, and the Captain rode up to her and asked if she had any firearms concealed on her. She drew a small six-shooter from her bosom and said, "Do you want it?" "Indeed I do," was the reply. "Captain, I am serving notice on you that I intend using this before giving it to you. Now do you want it?" "I guess not," he replied, and rode away.

Another time she was digging up some guns she had buried under a wagon. Several men on horseback rode up and asked what she was doing. She smiled and replied, "You know we Mormons have the power to resurrect. I am now in the act of resurrecting." The leader of the mob laughed and said, "She is only a crazy Irish woman. Let us be moving."

There are more stories of encounters with Indians too. She was so amazing!

She was also a noted obstetrician (delivering nine in one night...the night after the six-shooter incident) and well known for her medical services. She nursed President John Taylor back to health after he was shot in Carthage Jail with Joseph and Hyrum Smith. Pres. Taylor is also my ancestor on my mother's side (Jane is on my father's side).

I'm in awe when I read the stories of my ancestors, and I feel so blessed to have such an amazing heritage.

Good Times

I think I need to be more aware of holidays. I forgot it was Memorial Day until I saw the flag out front that the scouts put up. It rained a lot, and Mike went to work. We went to our friends' house for a BBQ though, so the day wasn't a total loss. Except that Will was seriously sleep deprived and Sam refused to eat, so we left early with grumpy children. It was really fun though, the Fishers and Bluncks are so great! Katie and Teri and my new motivators to work out, except that I've only worked out with Teri twice, and I've never gone with Katie. I told them to just keep inviting me, and when it's not during nap time, I'll go.

Last night Teri and I went to Katie's to watch Dan in Real Life. We talked through half the movie, and then when it was over we sat and talked for hours. I hadn't checked my watch at all...until Mike called at 1:20 AM to make sure I was okay. We couldn't believe how late it was, so we called it a night. I didn't end up going to sleep until around 3:00 though. Garbage needed to go out, dishwasher needed to be started, Will woke up crying because he's teething again. Needless to say, I've been pretty tired today. So now that's it's midnight, I might as well blog.

Giveaway

There's a fun giveaway on here, but it ends tonight. I was the 792nd person to enter, so the odds are horrible, but what a cool prize!

The Sanders

The Sanders are in my ward, and I actually visit teach Liz. They are some of the sweetest, nicest people I've ever met. They were featured on the news last week. This link will get you to a brief article, but I recommend watching the video on the right-hand side of the page. Pretty amazing stuff.