i can see the pines are dancing

on a recent fall-getting-close-to-winter day, we all went to the park together.

can you see m. at all in this first one? she's standing under that really big tree.

it was cold. this is m.'s cold face:

this is when daddy helped her cross a fallen-tree bridge.

here is little c.'s cold face:

here is m. playing on the bridge

i like the way the light turned out in this one:

daddy climbed quite a tall tree, like a conquering hero:

i just loved the way little c. was looking down in this one:

our halloween

i suppose i should finally put up our halloween pictures. it's taken me a while because i've been working nights and i've been pretty tired. but halloween was AWESOME! the best part about it is that j. has forgotten his trick-or-treating candy and i don't have to worry about inordinate amounts of sugar going into his system. oh, and i thought it was so funny when people were asking what kind of candy s. likes. she's barely 8 months. give me a break.

at the stake halloween carnival with the cousins.
going trick-or-treating!

buying that firefighter costume for j. was the best money i've ever spent! can't wait to see what he wants to be next year.

all hallow's eve (and week)

halloween week is always such a blast in our neighborhood. we get to go to the ward party, the school carnival, and then regular trick-or-treating. i had lofty aspirations for costumes this year and once again fell back on the store-bought stuff. oh well, these kids look cute in everything! and they had such a fun week.

first snow

since j. is in his "terrible twos," some days go more smoothly than others. tuesday was an awesome day for us. we woke up to a thin blanket of snow, and j's reaction to it was just the best. his being excited about it made me more excited. and i've been pretty excited to see snow, after nearly 5 years without experiencing it. there's just something about getting to see things through your kids' eyes, it makes me feel so blessed to be a parent.

first look

first touch

first snowman

today i'm trying...

3., originally uploaded by m a v.

"This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy."
-George Bernard Shaw
Epistle Dedicatory to Arthur Bingham Walkley
“Man and Superman: a Comedy and a Philosophy”

today i'm trying to not be a feverish selfish little clod.
found quote via here.

they are so good, so good you see!

kings of convenience have put out their first album in about five years this week. why the title of this post from green eggs and ham? it's because i'm as sure as sam that if you try kings of convenience, especially this album, you WILL like them. i almost never buy entire albums of music and even more rarely recommend a band or musician to everyone i know. but i am doing that right now! if you have ears that work you'll love these guys. they're mellow and cheerful at the same time. they have the most beautifully harmonizing voices since simon and garfunkel.

go listen to a lot of it for free here.

better yet buy it for $7.99 here.

what are you waiting for? hop to it!

when i was afraid

sweet m. called me from school on tuesday around noon. i came and picked her up and i could tell she was feeling horrible. on friday morning she was doing a lot better and we almost sent her to school, but i felt like we should keep her home one more day just in case. that afternoon she was lethargic, her cough had become much, much worse, and her temperature was up. i took it at home and it was 101.3. after trying to contact our family doctor a few times i took her to the urgent care, where they found her temperature to be 105.3 degrees. they almost sent her straight to the emergency room (they said 105 temperature can cause seizures) but instead they attempted to get her temp down there. when we left about an hour later her fever was back down to 101.4 and she was feeling a lot better.

they gave her a prescription and she has improved a lot over the last couple of days.

it's such a relief. i can't explain how terrified i felt when they said she could be having seizures and that they were considering sending her to the e.r. you know, there are so many times when m. frustrates me and i forget to see her for how precious and special to me she really is. the only good thing about her being that sick was it really put things into perspective. it didn't matter that sometimes she can be pouty or stubborn. all i could think of was how much i love her, how kind she is and how helpful she tries to be with me, how concerned she is for people around her. and how incredibly blessed i am to be her mom.