Due to a miscommunication on my part with my brother-in-law, Parker, I was flying alone to Guatemala and no one knew I was coming. The flight that was scheduled to leave LAX at 12:30am ended up leaving at 4:30 or 5:00 (I can't remember the exact time because I was deliriously tired at that point). I had a nice conversation with the men sitting next to me. They were Guatemalan business men returning from a manufacturing exposition in China and had been awake for the past 30+ hours. Their spirits were surprisingly good all things considered.
After getting through customs, I went over to ask how I could purchase a phone card. Couldn't do it at the airport. The woman at the Tourist Information desk kindly gave me one phone call. Paul Fillmore picked up the phone and was surprised to hear that I was at the airport. Fortunately, their original plans had fallen through and they were nearby so they came and bailed me out. 20 minutes later I was on my way to their apartment where they've stuffed me full of good food and shown me around a few parts of the city. I'm grateful that they are here. All things considered, not a bad first day.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Monday, September 8, 2008
Radio Heads
(Kent, Nellie, Matt, Laura, Lark, Parker)Ever since our Radiohead concert on Aug. 27th, we've all been a bit too crazy...here's what Luke came up with...
Apparently we've got too much influence from Radiohead AND Elmo in our house lately! But it's pretty funny when those worlds colide!
The Radiohead obsession has been infultrating us this whole past year. For Christmas I gave Matt the guitar TAB for some Radiohead songs, so he's been learning to play them himself. Plus, he got the entire 7 CD box set and a collectors item LP with a B sides CD. Ever since all that, the kids and I have been hearing a lot of Radiohead--expecially when they ride in Matt's car. I put on the song Karma Police for Luke and he immediately said, "Yeah, Dad loves that one..." and it happens to be the one Matt has been learning on the guitar. Good ear Luke! I coudn't resist helping Luke film the above movie because he came up with the idea all on his own and even researched out the "Radiohead look" to duplicate it. He has his father's creative musical mind.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Back to school!!!
YEAH!!!
A few peaks:
How Ella and I felt:
Happy! No one to tease Ella, take and hide her nene or make her scream!
AFTER SCHOOL:
Happy school year to everyone
A few peaks:
How Ella and I felt:
Happy! No one to tease Ella, take and hide her nene or make her scream!AFTER SCHOOL:
Happy school year to everyone
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Home
What is home?
For most of my life my home was Utah. We just returned from a great visit there. I love my family that live there and all the memories I indulge in when I drive through Draper and Sandy. It is all a part of me. So, is that home?
Brazil was a "foreign land" but I never felt foreign. As soon as I arrived in Brazil, I was at home. I always felt loved and accepted. I had an immediate bond with the Brazilian people and still, in my heart, Brazil is very much "home." That is where I felt closer to my Heavenly home than I'd ever felt and Portuguese came as such a natural expression of my love. I hope to call it home again someday--on one of our missions.
Since we've been married, Carlsbad has felt more like home to us than any other place we've lived. We love it here and feel so comfortable and would like to stay forever, but who knows. We won't likely stay in a state where democracy is so blatently disregarded and sin is preached in the schools to our children. So after the Nov. election we'll decide if this is still going to be our home.
My best friend used to describe being in love as feeling at "home." That perfectly peaceful, unconditional love that no matter what you look like, how you are feeling or if you've done something wrong, you are always loved like you were at home. I guess no matter where I live for the rest of my life as long as I'm surrounded by the love of my Love, then I can always feel at home.
For most of my life my home was Utah. We just returned from a great visit there. I love my family that live there and all the memories I indulge in when I drive through Draper and Sandy. It is all a part of me. So, is that home?
Brazil was a "foreign land" but I never felt foreign. As soon as I arrived in Brazil, I was at home. I always felt loved and accepted. I had an immediate bond with the Brazilian people and still, in my heart, Brazil is very much "home." That is where I felt closer to my Heavenly home than I'd ever felt and Portuguese came as such a natural expression of my love. I hope to call it home again someday--on one of our missions.
Since we've been married, Carlsbad has felt more like home to us than any other place we've lived. We love it here and feel so comfortable and would like to stay forever, but who knows. We won't likely stay in a state where democracy is so blatently disregarded and sin is preached in the schools to our children. So after the Nov. election we'll decide if this is still going to be our home.
My best friend used to describe being in love as feeling at "home." That perfectly peaceful, unconditional love that no matter what you look like, how you are feeling or if you've done something wrong, you are always loved like you were at home. I guess no matter where I live for the rest of my life as long as I'm surrounded by the love of my Love, then I can always feel at home.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Housekeeping!
I don't know about you, but during the summer time there is one word that constantly runs through my mind: Housekeeping!
You know when you are at a hotel and the maids knock on the door at 8 in the morning and say, "housekeeping!", well, that's what I think every time I walk into my kids' bathroom--with wet and dirty towels all over the floor, bathing suits in heaps, toothbrushes left out on the counter and sand everywhere. I hang up the clean towels, grab the dirty towels, rinse the sand down the bathtub drain, tidy up the counter all the while thinking, "housekeeping!"
It's my regular summer job! ;-)
You know when you are at a hotel and the maids knock on the door at 8 in the morning and say, "housekeeping!", well, that's what I think every time I walk into my kids' bathroom--with wet and dirty towels all over the floor, bathing suits in heaps, toothbrushes left out on the counter and sand everywhere. I hang up the clean towels, grab the dirty towels, rinse the sand down the bathtub drain, tidy up the counter all the while thinking, "housekeeping!"
It's my regular summer job! ;-)
Body Smart
The visit to the doctor today confirmed for me what I've always believed: our bodies are smart. It is our brains that we usually attribute intelligence to, but we have to admit that our bodies are also smart and can tell us what's good for us. Here's the story.
So, Ella's still constipated. Yep. Since birth. Not just occasionally, not just slightly, but really. We always tried to feed her what we consider food and a normal diet for a baby, a 1 yr. old, now a toddler, and it's never really stacked up. We've labeled her as our fussy eater, but today I realized that she is just listening to her body.
The gastroentologist that she saw today has ordered some lab work and blood tests to see if there are any organ problems or diseases that might be causing her constipation, but in the meantime, he says, make sure she eats a diet high in fiber. "That's the problem--she doesn't eat" is what I was thinking. I told him that she is on what we call a "bird's diet." She eats a lot of nuts and seeds, loves black beans and corn, and finger sized fruit like blueberries, cut up peaches, apples, watermelon, etc. Pretty much what a bird eats, right?
After going over the high fiber diet paper that the dr. gave me I realized that Ella hasn't just been eating a bird's diet--she's been eating a high fiber diet her whole life. Now, a baby doesn't know anything about fiber--she just listens to what her body needs. And if we offer her chicken or steak for dinner but refuses us, it's not because she's fussy, but because her body doesn't need it--it needs the fruit or cauliflower or fluid--because, in her case, she's got constipation issues.
Ella's diet has always been very different from our other children. I'll tell you all her favorites and can also tell you that ALL of these things are a great source of fiber:
*oatmeal for breakfast very regularly (my other kids won't touch that stuff!)
*sometimes she just drinks apple juice and eats sunflower seeds for breakfast (she's hungry 1 1/2 hours later, but sometimes it's all we can get her to eat in the am)
*whole grain cereal (she tends to like the sweet ones best, but I try and buy only cereal with less than 9 gr. of sugar per serving, so that rules out a lot of cereal)
*wheat thins and Graham crackers (she loves to dunk those in milk)
*almost all nuts-especially almonds and peanuts (at age 1 her pediatrician was concerned that she was eating almonds at such a young age and that I should watch for choking. "She doesn't choke on them--she chews them right up and loves them" I told her. She looked at me like it was very risky. But her body needs them--they are a very good source of fiber and not constipating like meat)
*avocado (she would sometimes eat a quarter an avocado a day! Just plain--I like them that way too, but not many do)
*I said black beans and corn--she eats those very ferociously :-)
*fried rice with corn and peas in it
*lots of fruit including raisins, apples, she loves mangoes (God's greatest fruit!), peaches, blueberries, pineapple
*sweet potatoes
*cauliflower
*zucchini soup
*asparagus
she's even eaten mushrooms and liked them.
She never eats white bread or rolls (my favorite!) or eggs (Kate's favorite) or steak (Luke's favorite). But she does love to share a bowl of ice cream with her dad (Matt's favorite). And although it's not high in fiber, who can resist it???
Although she does enjoy eating Cheetos and cookies and a cheese stick occasionally, the above list of foods is really what she eats, and has been eating, for the past year. Her pediatrician checked her iron level because she was afraid it would be low when I told her that Ella eats very little meat. But it came back just fine. Must be those nuts that she was so afraid of!
Anyway, it was VERY interesting to read this diet plan the dr. gave her because without even knowing it, she's been eating a high fiber diet all along. It hasn't cured her constipation, but I can't imagine the pain she'd be in if she were eating what I've always considered good food for babies: bananas, baby food, what ever we are eating for dinner. I usually have one or two of the above things on our dinner table anyway, so she DOES eat what we are eating, just not everything we are eating. She's very vocal in her opinions. Ever since she was 4 months old she would keep her mouth shut or turn her face away as we tried feeding her if it wasn't something she wanted. And now she will tell us "no!" if it's not what she needs.
Through it, I've learned that indeed, our bodies are smart and we should listen to them more often for what they need. Now, mine is telling me to go eat some chocolate, so I'm outta here! ;-)
So, Ella's still constipated. Yep. Since birth. Not just occasionally, not just slightly, but really. We always tried to feed her what we consider food and a normal diet for a baby, a 1 yr. old, now a toddler, and it's never really stacked up. We've labeled her as our fussy eater, but today I realized that she is just listening to her body.
The gastroentologist that she saw today has ordered some lab work and blood tests to see if there are any organ problems or diseases that might be causing her constipation, but in the meantime, he says, make sure she eats a diet high in fiber. "That's the problem--she doesn't eat" is what I was thinking. I told him that she is on what we call a "bird's diet." She eats a lot of nuts and seeds, loves black beans and corn, and finger sized fruit like blueberries, cut up peaches, apples, watermelon, etc. Pretty much what a bird eats, right?
After going over the high fiber diet paper that the dr. gave me I realized that Ella hasn't just been eating a bird's diet--she's been eating a high fiber diet her whole life. Now, a baby doesn't know anything about fiber--she just listens to what her body needs. And if we offer her chicken or steak for dinner but refuses us, it's not because she's fussy, but because her body doesn't need it--it needs the fruit or cauliflower or fluid--because, in her case, she's got constipation issues.
Ella's diet has always been very different from our other children. I'll tell you all her favorites and can also tell you that ALL of these things are a great source of fiber:
*oatmeal for breakfast very regularly (my other kids won't touch that stuff!)
*sometimes she just drinks apple juice and eats sunflower seeds for breakfast (she's hungry 1 1/2 hours later, but sometimes it's all we can get her to eat in the am)
*whole grain cereal (she tends to like the sweet ones best, but I try and buy only cereal with less than 9 gr. of sugar per serving, so that rules out a lot of cereal)
*wheat thins and Graham crackers (she loves to dunk those in milk)
*almost all nuts-especially almonds and peanuts (at age 1 her pediatrician was concerned that she was eating almonds at such a young age and that I should watch for choking. "She doesn't choke on them--she chews them right up and loves them" I told her. She looked at me like it was very risky. But her body needs them--they are a very good source of fiber and not constipating like meat)
*avocado (she would sometimes eat a quarter an avocado a day! Just plain--I like them that way too, but not many do)
*I said black beans and corn--she eats those very ferociously :-)
*fried rice with corn and peas in it
*lots of fruit including raisins, apples, she loves mangoes (God's greatest fruit!), peaches, blueberries, pineapple
*sweet potatoes
*cauliflower
*zucchini soup
*asparagus
she's even eaten mushrooms and liked them.
She never eats white bread or rolls (my favorite!) or eggs (Kate's favorite) or steak (Luke's favorite). But she does love to share a bowl of ice cream with her dad (Matt's favorite). And although it's not high in fiber, who can resist it???
Although she does enjoy eating Cheetos and cookies and a cheese stick occasionally, the above list of foods is really what she eats, and has been eating, for the past year. Her pediatrician checked her iron level because she was afraid it would be low when I told her that Ella eats very little meat. But it came back just fine. Must be those nuts that she was so afraid of!
Anyway, it was VERY interesting to read this diet plan the dr. gave her because without even knowing it, she's been eating a high fiber diet all along. It hasn't cured her constipation, but I can't imagine the pain she'd be in if she were eating what I've always considered good food for babies: bananas, baby food, what ever we are eating for dinner. I usually have one or two of the above things on our dinner table anyway, so she DOES eat what we are eating, just not everything we are eating. She's very vocal in her opinions. Ever since she was 4 months old she would keep her mouth shut or turn her face away as we tried feeding her if it wasn't something she wanted. And now she will tell us "no!" if it's not what she needs.
Through it, I've learned that indeed, our bodies are smart and we should listen to them more often for what they need. Now, mine is telling me to go eat some chocolate, so I'm outta here! ;-)
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Matt has finally gone after his goal of surfing and has been having a great time this summer. Even the 6 am wakeup call on a should-be-sleep-in holiday does not deter him from getting out there and catching the waves. Way to go babe!