.::still blinking::.

I will hold you tightly
When the hurting kicks in.

Life is beautiful, but it’s complicated,
we barely make it.
We don’t need to understand,
There are miracles, miracles.

Stand where you are.
We let all these moments pass us by.

It’s amazing where I’m standing,
There’s a lot that we can give.
This is ours just for a moment.
There’s a lot that we can give.

Vega 4 :: Life is Beautiful

A new found love is 30 Rock. I am late to the game. But I love it. In fact, “I love it so much, I want to take it out behind the junior high and get it pregnant.”

I love friendship. I don’t feel like I really had friends until I was in college and even than, they were my roommates so I felt like they had to be nice to me. I don’t really feel like I have had any friends since I was like 5 like a lot of people do, except for my cousin, you know who you are and we had a rocky patch there for a while. But I have stayed friends with my roommates. Katrina, my cousin, went to college with me and we have stayed friends and now our kids are penpals. Here in this neighborhood, I feel so blessed to have so many good friends. My sisters, my sister-in-laws, and my mom and a bunch of my cousins are my friends.

It is truly lovely to have friends that really care about you. People that know you aren’t perfect. People who have had to deal with a lifetime of my uncontrollable farting. People who love me anyway.

A new thing for me, I am sure this isn’t that new I just started to notice, is people being incredibly charitable. During the swine flu panic, a friend gave up her shot for me and called me to let me know that it was waiting for me. I was pregnant and had tried several times, unsuccessfully to get it. I was panicking trying to get it. Her doing this for me, changed me and my opinion of her. Other friends have rescued me from my kids, or rather rescued my kids from me. Or taken my on business trips I didn’t really need to go on. Or just checked up on and been available by text or email late into the night. And been willing to bring dinner when they had just had c-sections themselves (I told this friend to stop threatening to bring dinner).

I recently made friends with a little 83-year old lady in my neighborhood. She is tiny and sweet. She has back problems, it hurts her to do most anything. I cannot believe how busy she is and how much service she gets done. I wish I could think of something to do with or for her all the time. I love going to talk to her, but don’t know how to just invite myself over. Maybe I should start inviting her to my crazy and dirty house. But Gentry loves her dog and we want him to come too.

Friendship makes my life better and makes me a better person.

I love the following blogs. Like a lot. A lot.

You can visit her here. She has so many crafty wonderful ideas that I don’t want to share them with you because they would make great presents for everyone I know and if you saw it than I could not make it for you. But lets be honest. I finish nothing and so I will just share the heaven sent goodness with you and you can possibly make it yourself. I am pretty much sure she lives some where near me. I should find her and be her BFF.

I love Kelly from my happy little life. She is honest and good. She is LDS and open and proud of it. She is so fun to be around and so willing to do good. She does a service project every year for her birthday. She has great style and a sweet little girl. And chickens. I am so jealous of the greatness and beauty that is her life. Don’t get me wrong, she struggles and talks openly about it. But her genuine love for life shows up more than anything.

IS•LY is also a great crafty blog. She has so many simple and great ideas for things you have hanging out at home. She is one of my favorites in my reader. I hope over there as soon as I see a post from her. If you are the crafty type, you will love her as well.

I love Pink Picket Fence. She has great crafty tutorials as well. Take a peek around her blog. You are sure to find things you will love to make for your girls or little girls you know. It will make your little girly heart go pitter patter.

I love my mom. I love the lessons she has taught me. I love the strength she has given me. I love her. I love the way she loves my babies.

one

two

I told Gentry it is shoesday. He told me to drop him off at jj’s work because he doesn’t want to look at shoes with me.

I can only imagine what his little mind is thinking right now. “I thought I had learned the days of the week song. And now my mom, who knows everything, tells me there is a Shoesday. Why didn’t that one get included in the song?”

I love the workings of his little mind.

Currently, I am working on finding him some shoes to wear for the summer. Do you like one or two?

I found this book before Christmas and got myself one and anyone else who loves a heart attack on a stick, seriously.

Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey.

Doesn’t it sound like love at first site, if you don’t believe me, get it from the library and take it for a test drive. You. will. need. it. BAD. The names are darling and the layout is a designers dream.

If you have ever needed creative or classic desserts this has them.

Yesterday for the baby blessing, JJ made Chocolate-Mayonnaise Cupcakes with Caramel Butterscotch Buttercream Frosting. Sigh. They were heavenly. Right Kateka?

Gooey Caramel Butter Bars. Tasty.

Ooh! Brown Sugar! and Almond Pound Cake. I want you.

Devil’s Food Cake with Chocolate Mousse Buttercreammm. Oh buttercream. How I love you.

Milky Way Tempura-on-a-Stick. We will be good friends.

Dark Chocolate Soup with Cinnamon-Toasted Pound-Cake Croutons. You sound like a fantastic dinner option.

I love this quote by dooce.com. Except mine would say:

I look back and think about all the life-altering chaos and craziness and absolute joy that has gone on in the past, and the fact that I was given a second chance to enjoy having a baby, and I could not be happier. I credit Gentry with making me a mother, and now I credit Amelia with showing me that the instinct has been their all along.

I love my family. When my family was falling apart, I depended on my aunts and uncles to help guide me and help me. They stepped up and encouraged me. They helped me see goodness when I could not see it myself. I remember calling my aunts and asking for help. The relationships we have developed as I have grown are so cherished by me. When I was my little boys age, I used to look at them and think how old they were. Now I feel like we are all the same age, they just have more knowledge of life and living than me.