The Biznards

When I don't see the sun for a few days I start to miss it. A LOT. Today I got the itch to visit the sun, since as you can see from the photos above, the sun was in no condition to come out. And I needed to know it still exists...It does.

 My sister and I took our boys up the mountain in search of the sun today. It was SO worth it. Under that thick layer of white is where I live and where I am now typing this post.




Gavin and Zane sure loved to scream on top of that mountain! Cooky kids!

2015
It's going to be a great year. I can just feel it in my bones. I feel very optimistic about this year.

I work for my brother's vinyl lettering company and I see many of the quotes that get ordered. I don't usually pay too much attention to what people order but there's one quote I saw come through months ago that just stuck in my brain.

"Create A Life You Love"

I love that quote. It gives me power over my life to act and to create. I often times feel really overwhelmed by my life and it's many responsibilities and I hate that feeling of having so much to do and not enough time to do it. I hate being overscheduled. I don't think that is what life is all about. So I'm excited that this year I will be taking power back into my life and I won't allow time and busyness rule over me. This year I plan on not just creating a life I love, but creating moments I love. Even on those days I'm crazy busy, I will create a moment I love, and it will most likely be simple and will most likely involve chocolate (Just kidding!). It will hopefully involve doing good and showing love to others, including my family. Oh, and hopefully more writing, including on my blog (I'm old school like that).

Case in point...Today. I had to take the time to chase the sun and spend quality time with a few of my loved ones. A must.

And even though I slipped on the ice and sprained my wrist on the third day of the new year...It's still gonna be a good year!

I'm a curious soul. When it comes to other people's beliefs and practices, I love to know what makes people tick, what the beliefs are behind the practices. For this reason, I feel compelled to write this post, partly to let others know what I believe, and why I am the way I am, and partly to clear up many misconceptions of my religious beliefs.

Sometimes people call us Mormons, LDS, or Latter-day Saints. We often call ourselves that, but those are just nicknames. The true name of the church is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There are many ideas and misconceptions swirling around out there about my religious beliefs, but from what I've gathered, despite what many think we believe, many have a certain respect for us Mormons. Often we're known to be honest, upstanding citizens. People usually know that we don't drink coffee or alcohol. That we don't swear, and that generally we try to be good, decent human beings. What I want to explain are the beliefs behind these practices. Ie. Why don't we drink coffee or alcohol? etc.

I was once told by someone not of my faith that they heard that we, as Mormons, believe that we have to have a lot of kids in order to make it into heaven. I'll just clear that misconception up right now. That's not true. The amount of children one has and their entrance into heaven are not related.

So you can see, that's just one of many misconceptions. I want tell you what I believe as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But before I do, let me emphasize that I'm not a spokesperson for my church, this is just what I believe.

I believe in God. I also refer to Him as my Heavenly Father or Father in Heaven. He is a Supreme Being with flesh and bone (He's not a spirit). He is immortal. He is perfect. He is all powerful. He is all knowing. He is an all loving Father. That means he loves every last one of us. The good and the evil. We are His children. He's not scary to me, only loving, just, and merciful. And because He loves each of us, He has a plan for us, so that we can return and live with Him someday. I say "return and live with Him" because before we were born on this earth, we were first spirits and we lived with our Heavenly Father. He taught us and tutored us and prepared us for our life here. Our lives didn't start the day we were born. (Just read Jeremiah 1:5 in the Old Testament and you'll know what I'm talking about). We had a pre-earth life as spirits and gained our bodies when we were born here.

I believe in Jesus Christ. I also refer to Him as my Savior and Redeemer. He has a body of flesh and bone. He is resurrected and immortal. He lives! He is perfect. He is literally the Son of God. He was born of a virgin, Mary. He was a carpenter. He performed miracles. He healed the leprous, sick, and blind. He raised the dead. He taught. He forgives. He is mercy. He is grace. He is kind. He is love. He suffered every pain, sickness, agony, and sins of all mankind in the Garden of Gethsemane. He gave the greatest gift that anyone can give, he laid down his life for us on the cross. Three days after his death he was resurrected. He did it all because he loves us. He always does his father's will. God and Jesus Christ are Father and Son, they are one, not one body, but one in purpose. It is through Jesus Christ, his grace and mercy, that I too will be resurrected one day and I can return and live with my Heavenly Father. 

 My faith in God and Jesus Christ brings me hope and happiness. I feel at peace knowing where I came from, why I'm here, and where I'm going.

*I originally thought I would do this all in one post, but I quickly realized that I can be way to wordy and now plan on breaking it up into more posts.

In June, Chad got a text from Branden (mission buddy, old college friend, and now the bass player for the Neon Trees) saying that he was gonna be in town and wondered if we'd be able to get together the next evening before his band played . Of course we said, YES. We also decided this time around that we wanted to bring Ethan. I knew it would be a cool experience for him, getting to meet Branden, and going to his first concert. So we met up with Branden, his wife Emilie, and a few other friends the next evening at a very nice restaurant where Ethan was the only kid in the whole restaraunt. They didn't even have kid menus. On the way to meet them he was nervous. We told him it was ok, it was just Branden, but to Ethan, he was meeting a real, live rock star. During dinner Ethan had a question for Branden and so he got up and moved over and sat by Ethan so they could chat better. Branden answered his questions and he showed him some pictures on his phone from his tour. He was so sweet to Ethan all night and really made him feel special.

After dinner, we watched them perform. It was a little loud for him. He plugged one of his ears most of the time.

It was getting late and I still had to work and we were gonna leave before the concert was over. Emilie found us and said they were just about done, so we decided to stay. I'm so glad we did, because the best part for Ethan was yet to come.

After the concert Emilie led us downstairs through security so we could see Branden and meet the band. We were standing around chatting when Branden came up behind us, picked Ethan up, and swung him around. Soon the other band members came out and Branden took Ethan under his wing and made sure he introduced Ethan to each of them, shook their hands, and had them autograph the piece of paper Ethan had been given with the evening's list of songs.

Branden also orchestrated this photo op with the band. We got one shot and luckily all our eyes are open! If you look closely you'll see the lead singer's hand resting on Ethan's shoulder. What a night to remember! And thanks to my mom who with very late notice was willing to watch Gavin until after midnight.

Before the race - Abby, me, Carin, Kim, Holly, Melinda

It all started when Abby and Holly invited me to go on this 50 mile bike ride. The idea felt overwhelming and to be honest, kind of unattainable. The deadline to sign up was coming and a decision had to be made. Who was in?? We all emailed back and forth and I was on the fence. I had never ridden a road bike, especially for that distance, and I didn't even own a road bike. It seemed like a lose lose situation. I waffled back and forth until I was forced to make the decision. I replied to all, said yes, and hit send. It was a lottery and part of me really hoped our team wouldn't get accepted. But the other part of me didn't want to miss out on a fun girl's weekend if we were accepted. Just my luck, our team was actually...accepted! We were officially in! Woohoo! Not. I'll be honest, I wasn't all that pumped. Over the next month or two, riding on this long bike ride always nagged at the back of my mind and the fact that I didn't own a bike was always there too. How was I going to train if I didn't have a road bike? Being the procrastinator that I am, it wasn't until a month before the ride that figured I should really start training if I was really going to do this ride. I got the guts up to ask my outdoorsy friend Leslie if I could use one of their bikes to train. Luckily she trusted me. Road bikes are pricey!

Training
I invited Leslie to be my mentor and she took Melinda and I on our first ride. Things started out a little rocky for me. Literally. I put my feet in the toe clip shoes (whatever they're called), got on the bike, and clipped my right foot into the peddle. Easy. Then came the tricky part, clipping my left foot in while my right foot was clipped. Not so easy. I started to roll down her gravely driveway trying to clip in my left foot all the while tipping over to the right. I was done. Since I couldn't unclip my right foot before hitting the ground, I ended up with a very bloody knee, low self esteem when it came to using the clips, and a bruised ego. I used my tennis shoes for the next couple of rides. Learning the gears was also new to me and took a few rides to get it down. We were getting closer to ride day and I knew I'd be better off if I used the clips instead of my tennis shoes. I decided to go out on my front grass and practice. Timber! I fell over again. When Chad got home I made him walk out to the cul de sac with me to practice. I felt like a kid again, but I finally got the hang of it and to this day I haven't gotten stuck in my clips again. Yay! I quickly realized after the second ride and after getting used to those tiny tires that I really enjoyed riding. The only thing I don't enjoy about road biking are the passing cars. During that 4 weeks I went on about four rides, two 20 milers, and two 30 milers. Ready or not, I was gonna do 50.

Race Day
Kim, Carin, Melinda, and I drove to Logan where we met up with Abby and Holly. Going on those rides during those previous weeks gave me the confidence that I could do it, at least I knew I could do 32 miles since that's what I'd done before. I wasn't nervous at all, but felt excited. It was Friday and the ride wasn't until Saturday morning. We stayed up at Holly's in-laws cabin the night before, chatted and did our nails. Saturday morning came and I felt like I'd had the worst night's sleep (probably cause I did - for no good reason other than I always have a bad night's sleep on the first night - it's a mental block I have). Other than that I was ready to go.

Everything was great. It was a pretty flat ride and I was pretty confidant in my abilities at this point. We chatted, we sang, it was fun, we passed people which is always a confidence booster. We came upon the 33 mile mark, had lunch, and layed on the grass for a bit. When I got back on the bike after lunch I was still feeling good, and 17 miles didn't seem that far away, until after I got to the top of the first hill. It wasn't steep but it was long. I can't slowpoke it up hills, so I booked it. I like to get it over with. By the time I got to the top I was breathing heavily and I soon felt my legs cramping up. I was in PAIN. I felt like any moment my legs would seize up and the intense pain would not go away, but I kept pushing through. We then came upon a much steeper hill (at least steep for someone who'd already gone 37 miles and who was cramping up like crazy). But I made it. It was refreshing to get to the top and see that I could coast down the nice steep hill below. Although I couldn't totally enjoy it since I was so scared I'd fall and I was still in so much pain. I cried and prayed for safety the whole way down the hill. My teammates were much more enthusiastic about the huge hill than I was as they cruised down at 40mph. It wasn't too much longer after we got to the bottom of the hill that my legs finally stopped cramping (although the burning was still there) and the ride became a little more enjoyable. At the 42 mile mark we heard a loud pop and realized that not only had Abby's tube popped but also her tire had a hole in it. We thought her ride was officially over (which would have been sad since she was the one who orchestrated the whole thing). Luckily they had a service crew come and fix up Abby's tire. They replaced her tube, pumped it up to half of what it should be, and put a cardboard in between the tube and the tire. We weren't so sure she'd make it without it popping again. We were just glad it didn't pop on the way down as she was going 40mph. That could have been bad. After her tire was fixed up we only had 8 miles to go. The long break did my legs good and I was ready to do another 20, until about 4 miles in, my legs and butt were hurting by then, and I was just mentally ready to be done! I couldn't get to the finish line soon enough. The finish line finally came and Holly's family and Abby's husband were there to cheer us in.

It felt good!! I accomplished something I really didn't know I could do when I signed up and I found a new hobby. It was a win win. I wish I had more pictures to post from the ride, but just my luck, my memory card was full 3 pictures in (curse those children who get ahold of my phone and take random pictures and videos).

The rest of the evening was spent feeling...well, really tired. We were all tired, physically and mentally. I felt like my mind was on a different planet for the rest of the evening. We spent at least a half hour trying to figure out where to eat dinner. Let's just say heads turned as we walked through the restaurant with our matching hot pink jerseys (and on a sidenote, we got more than one compliment from ladies on the road about our cute jerseys). Later we sat on the couch, watched a no brainer movie and went to bed, explored the woods around the cabin the next morning, went to church, and drove back home.

What a fun weekend with the Spoke N' Hot Babes!! And the good news is, I just may do it again.

That's what Gavin said to his friend Maggie when she was being shy at church. When Maggie's mom told me he said that, it made my day. Usually he's the shy one as she comes over, tries to take his hand, so they can walk to nursery together. Sometimes he rejects that idea, but other times we watch them walk hand in hand to nursery. Ethan calls Maggie Gavin's girlfriend, we just call her a friend. He's too young to date.

He's officially three now, which is that magical age when really funny things start to come out of their mouths in rapid succession. I love this age. The time has come that I will no doubt be adding plenty of funny Gavin quotes to the "Quotes Worth Repeating" column.

Today as he bent down on our driveway, studying a worm, he said in a very sugary voice, "The worm's so sweet!" OK, I've never heard that before.

A few weeks ago my sister Courtney was babysitting Gavin. While she was in the other room for a few minutes, he and her 2 year old son were playing. After a little bit she heard some rustling, and then she heard someone say "poopie" and then she heard "change me." That was her queue. She walked into the room and found Gavin completely naked and laying on the floor. He'd taken off all his clothes and he was telling Zane to change his diaper. Zane happily obliged, and so the 2 year old proceeded to try and put on the 3 year old's diaper. (And the fact that he's still wearing diapers is a totally different story).

The tease! Gavin is the biggest tease. He loves a reaction, and in fact, thrives off of reactions. He gets the biggest reactions when he picks his nose and chases Ethan around the house with a booger on his finger. He just loves that. Ethan...not so much. I still remember when I was changing his diaper some months ago, he put his finger near his bum bum then put his finger in his mouth. "Eww, yuck!" I exclaimed. I'll never forget that glint in his eye and the smile that spread across his face. He knew if he did it again he'd get the same reaction. And he did. He thought it was hilarious. This one, I tell ya, will keep me on my toes.

The Wild Grapes - Shelby, Ann, Tamara, Me, Brittany

This is a picture of the Wild Grapes taken 20+ years ago at EFY. This is the name people called us and referred to us as. Dorky or not, that's how it was. That's how it is. The Wild Grapes were my bestfriends growing up. We clicked. We had fun. We went to church together. To early morning seminary. To mutual. To dances. To school. We spent the weekends together meeting and hanging out with boys. We snuck out. We t.ped. We even liked some of the same boys eh hem, Kevin Lowe).They made high school bareable and fun. I loved them then and I love them now. We've gotten out of touch throughout the years and we've gotten back in touch, but whether we're in touch or not they'll always have a special place in my heart.

Instead of going to our official 20 year high school reunion (some of us couldn't make it), we had our own little reunion with just the 5 of us. Here are The Grapes now:


Shelby, Me, Ann, Brittany, Tamara


Spending this last weekend with them was SO. MUCH. FUN. It was a blast from the past. We looked at old photos, talked late into the night, got caught up on each others lives and the lives of old friends. We laughed so hard we had tears in our eyes and our stomachs hurt (at least I did). There's something comforting being with old friends, with those who knew you when you were young and awkward. When you had bad perms and braces and when you wore your pants too high with floral shirts (exhibit A: top photo). They accepted you then, and they accept you now. Although we've all gone through different life experiences, at the core we're still the same. We're still faithful in the gospel. We all married awesome husbands and have amazing children. It's refreshing.

Another highlight of my trip to Cali was seeing many of the adults that in their own way helped raise me. My parents did most the raising, but really, there were many people who were involved with that process. The Parmleys. The Jacksons. The Reeves. Just to name a few. I went to the old ward on Sunday and saw many familiar faces from 20 years ago and I couldn't help but get teary eyed. They all had a part in helping me become me. It helped me remember what an important part we all play in each others lives. This life is all about relationships and the love we show for each other. That's why we're here: To love.

Ok, I'll stop being cheesy now...Here are some more pics from the trip:

The first night. Barbeque with the Reeve Clan. In true Linda fashion there were rented tables and chairs and white table cloths. Love it. I LOVE the Reeves. If I could be a member of their family I would.

Pedicures!

Brunch with Rebecca and her newest member of the family, Kirabo. You can see him in the photo gettin comfy on the bench.

This picture was the source of some serious laughter. It was a self timed photo and I literally had 2 seconds to get back to the bench before the camera snapped a picture. In the rush I pushed the bench against the wall and inadvertently smashed Britt's hand between the bench and the wall. I felt horrible about hurting her but when we saw what the camera captured we laughed until we cried. You can see it in Britt's face. Hilarious.

And in true Wendy fashion, I must. not. offend. anyone. So if you're reading this post and wonder why you weren't mentioned, just know that you too have had an impact on my life, but today, this post is all about The Grapes.

I love seeing Gavin's reaction to seeing me on T.V.

This will probably be the first and last time I'm on T.V. (unless it's on Wheel of Fortune - I'm still wanting to get on that show very badly). I had the privledge of talking to Carolyn Holly today. She's actually really friendly and easy to talk to. I appreciated that. She interviewed me, Megan, and Maureen about our stories we wrote in the Book of Mom. The interview was short and sweet, and little did I know it'd be live! I give all credit to Megan (the one in blue) who, through her connections, set up the interview for us. She's cool like that. :)

What was cool about being interviewed with Maureen and Megan is that each of us come from different sides of the adoption spectrum. Megan is a birthmother, Maureen is an adoptee, and I'm of course an adoptive mother. It's really amazing to see how each of us has been blessed by adoption in totally different ways.

The three of us arrived early, sat in the lobby, and chatted, which helped me feel less nervous. That's also when I found out it'd be live. Scary! When they took us back to the studio, it was nothing fancy, we just walked passed all the news people's cubicles. We sat around the table while they put our microphones on and we tried to help each other look presentable by making sure we didn't have lipstick on our teeth and that our hair was laying nicely. Carolyn shouted at us from across the room from her news desk (in a nice way, of course) to make sure she knew who each of us were, we watched Larry Gebert give his meteorologist schpiel, and I watched as Carolyn went through her notes and formulized questions in her head (I could just see it in her eyes). Then she came over and officially met us and shook our hands. We asked her things like where to place our hands and where to look and then we were on and 5 minutes later we were off. Botta boom, botta bang. Easy.

The best news of all was that Ethan was proud of his dear ole mom (he's at that age you know, when parents can be so embarassing). The day before the interview I talked with Ethan about being on the news and he said, and I quote, "Mom, I really don't want you to make a fool of this family." Ethan, I'm pretty sure I done ya proud (at least this time). Given 5 more minutes and it could've been a different outcome.