Valentine Surprise!

For Valentines this year, my husband gave me a great surprise! A couple of my kids told me the day before Valentines that Dad got me a great present. I asked them if it was a "big" present....Brandon got a weird look on his face. Then I corrected myself and said, "expensive." Brandon didn't think so. That's good because I didn't have a "big" present for him....plus all finances in the household go through me.....poor Todd!

Anyways, on Saturday morning, Todd asked me if I wanted my present now. DUH! Of course! So he handed me........an envelope. I must admit that a little part of me was disappointed at first, because while I absolutely LOVE a note as a gift----don't get me wrong----I was still looking forward to a surprise. Todd doesn't give many surprises, so I was pretty excited. (sorry, honey, but it's true). :)

But then I opened the envelope and began reading. Here is what it said:

Happy Valentine's Day!

As Valentine's Day was approaching this year,

I pondered what gift I could give you, my dear.

I surfed high and low on every web site,

And I scoured the stores for something just right.

Some people like flowers and candy as gifts,

But those trinkets often perish too swift.

Some go for jewelry--a cherished possession,

Too bad we're in a financial recession.

Some prefer silky, lace underwear,

But you'd just protest "It's too cold out there!"

And there was the clue for the perfect prize,

On a TV commercial that caught my eyes.

Our bed is piled high with blankets galore,

So I'm sure that you won't mind adding one more.

Of course, not just any old throw rug would do,

But a blanket with sleeves! Can it be true?

Now, some folks feel that the Snuggie's quite cheesy,

But knowing you well, the decision was easy.

So now when you're wrapped up all cozy and snug,

I hope that you'll give your dear husband a hug!

Isn't that sweet.....and hilarious! I was so excited. Just the night before we were all watching a movie together as a family and the commercial came on for a Snuggie. And I said, "I need one of those." Brandon and Todd looked at each other and snickered......of course, I didn't catch it at the time......

Anyways, I LOVE my snuggie! I don't know why I'm freezing all the time, but this is a very good solution. So thanks honey. You're totally awesome!

Here are a few pics for your enjoyment: me and my snuggie!

Doing Sudoku---my real passion

Posing for the picture.

I tell you....I could do a commercial for this thing!

P.S. Now if I can just keep it away from my kids......they want it! (but it's MINE). :)

HELP!

Does anyone know WHY my smiley face and my blog list is now at the BOTTOM of my blog? What button did I push?

I hate computers......

If you have any insights, please do share!

A sweet "heart"--attack!

Last night we had a very unexpected, but pleasant surprise! The Young Women in our ward gave us a "heart"--attack. They taped many, many paper hearts on our front door, window, mailbox, tree, and even hung a few from our Christmas lights (which have not been taken down yet).

It was so sweet! My husband was actually in the living room at the time, which is very unusual all by itself, because he's typically not home on Wednesday's, but by some strange twist of events, he was......(Yippee--and that's another story for another day). Anyway, he heard noises from outside and became a little alarmed at first, since we have had several break-ins in our area lately. But as he peeked outside, he noticed several of the young women taping hearts all over the front of our house. It was all very exciting!!

I couldn't have decorated it better myself. On the hearts (of many colors and sizes) were written several messages. Some of them included:

The BEST You!
Wow!
Love ya!
LOVE
Yay!
Thank you!
Bishop Jones
Bishop is the best!

and our personal favorite......


Love shack, baby, love shack! (hilarious)

And even though not one heart said anything about ME (hee, hee), I'm still feeling very loved at the moment. (But you know girls....I helped make him what he is today, right? HA!--just kidding)

At any rate, it made our whole day. Thank you Young Women!! You guys are wonderful!

Our front door....

There were actually more hearts on the other side of the mailbox, but I didn't notice them until I had already taken the picture.....

Most of it....

Sweet and Tender Blessings!!

The Orange Bucket

If you drive by my house, you will see an orange bucket next to our driveway. I'll bet some of you are wondering why it is there......here is MY side of the story.

A couple of years ago, my husband noticed suspicious tire tracks on the far end of our front lawn, next to our driveway and he inquired to me about such tracks. I, of course, had no idea how they were getting there. I told him it wasn't me.

My husband didn't like it. He kept asking me: Why don't we have grass there in that corner? Why do I see tire tracks? Are you sure your turning wide enough so that you don't run over the grass? We have very little grass there now.

"I don't know." I would respond. Surely, it couldn't be me. I am a very good driver.

So this brings me to the orange bucket. He started putting it out last winter, when he suspiciously noticed the lack of grass and tire tracks (where the grass should be). I guess this was to deter any unsuspecting driver who drove into our driveway from running over the non-existing grass spot, because if he did, he would inevitably HIT the bucket!

At first, I was a little annoyed. "I'm telling you, it's not me." (Of course, there are only 2 drivers in our household and since he swears it's not him, it MUST be me, right?) I even suggested that maybe it was my mom, who visits on occasion. However, that didn't always match up with the suspicious tire tracks. They didn't coincide and weren't always consistent. (Sorry, Mom.....I didn't want to take the whole blame). :)

After a while I got used to the orange bucket and learned to really turn wide when entering our driveway, so in a little while, the bucket got removed. YEA! See, I told you it wasn't me.
About a month ago, I noticed the orange bucket was back in our front yard. "What?" At this point it didn't bother me anymore. It was actually kind-of funny and it's sort-of a joke between us now. And of course, up til this time, I have still remained steadfast in my swearing that it's not me.

The other day, I was backing out of my driveway and all of the sudden, I hit something from behind! "What WAS that?" And when I examined the back tire, I realized that I had knocked down the bucket!!! OOPS! Which of course, landed me right in the middle of the "non-grassy" spot. Shoot!

In my defense, I still don't belive that I was running over the corner while I was entering the driveway. But it has come to my attention, that possibly I was running over it while EXITING the driveway. Darn it! I hate it when Todd is right! :)

So I've now accepted the fact that we have an orange bucket sitting on the corner of our front lawn. I have admitted my mistakes and tried to learn from them.

The other day, Todd said to me:

"If we had a cone, I would use that."

Thanks, honey! I think I'll stick to the orange bucket. A cone really would tip people off, don't you think? For now, they might just think we keep forgetting to bring it in.....

Unfortunately, that's not really the case....

Here is the orange bucket....

The suspicious tire tracks....


A little better view of the whole thing.....

A Star is Born

Okay, so yesterday was Eric's talent show. I am still speechless and on cloud 9. I guess this is one of the great perks of being a mother: getting to see the accomplishments of your children.

I got to the assembly about 15 minutes early and I seriously was SO nervous! I think I was way more nervous than Eric was. The first 3 rows of the auditorium were reserved for parents, so of course, I chose FRONT and CENTER! I had my video camera at the ready and waited anxiously for the event to begin.

When I saw Eric getting ready to perform (his group was asked to do a few songs while the students were coming in), I thought I was going to throw up. For real! But I held it together....luckily. Or I would have missed one of the greatest highlights of my life. I know this is sounding way dramatic, but it really was that way for me in that moment.

The band started to play and I was on the edge of my seat when Eric courageously put the microphone to his mouth.....and began to sing! I was crying at this point and the camera was shaking, but I was so proud of him. Unfortunately his microphone wasn't very loud compared to the band and you couldn't hear him extremely well, but remember I was on the front row. And I could hear him. And I swear there's never been a prouder mother in the world than I was then. He did so good!

I'm so glad that I got to hear him in the beginning, because his group wasn't until the end of the assembly......and there is NO WAY I would have been able to sit through that whole thing waiting for his turn. I was on pins and needles. But once I heard him initially and I KNEW he could do it....and that he was going to succeed, I relaxed tremendously. And I truly enjoyed the whole assembly. Everybody was so amazing!

The song they did in the beginning was called Kriptonite by Three Doors Down. I had never even heard it before. It's like a rock song.....what? Eric had played it for me prior to the assembly on the internet, but before that I had never even heard of the band OR the song. The song they did for the assembly was called December by Collective Soul. Once again, I have never heard of either the band or the song. I am really behind the times.....I'm not as hip as I once was. (Okay, actually I've never been hip, but still....)

Anyway, I am so proud of Eric. The tape didn't come out great. You really can't hear him very well, but once in a while you get a portion of his song and he's singing on key and everything! He mostly just stood there and looked out into the audience, but HE DID IT! He's never done anything like this before. And he literally sang in front of a whole auditorium, including the balcony. I could never have done what he did.

I was on such a high yesterday (and still haven't come down completely), and I was thinking about how GREAT he was and I was talking to my sister and she said to me, "You're not saying he's good like some of "those" mothers on American Idol say their kids are good, are you?" I had actually thought about that prior to her asking.....and the answer is....."Of course not. He really is good." You can hear all those mothers saying the same things about their kids, can't you.....and I know you're really wondering for sure. But in my eyes (and here's the important part), he exceeded my expectations and I couldn't be prouder of him for his determination and courage! And to me....he was the best singer there!

Now, I didn't sleep for 3 days prior to this event and I can't imagine how I would be able to handle my kids in a musical, for heaven's sake. What am I going to do? I've always been a tear-jerker and a sucker for emotion, so I don't know how I'm going to be able to handle any future events.....whatever they are. But I guess I'll get through it somehow. These experiences and opportunities are so important. I'm so happy I get to be a part of them.

Way to go, Eric! You were awesome!

P.S. Eric came home today and was telling me how he was talking to all of his friends at school and they were saying how they didn't know what they were going to do with themselves now......now that the talent show was over. They were saying they didn't have anything to work towards or have anything to look forward to. I started laughing out loud. This whole thing was less than 2 weeks. Hilarious. But then he told me that one of his friends said.....

"Well, there's still girls!"

UGH!