The Real Man Card--A Father's Day Tribute

I meant to post this yesterday, but, as usual, I'm a day late and a dollar short! I have the most amazing father's in my life. First, my dad is just the BEST! I have always been a daddy's girl and looked up to my dad so much. He has been my chauffeur, my coach, my therapist, my chef, my entertainer, my protector, and most of all, my best friend my entire life. I love my dad so much! And he is one awesome grandpa! Sam loves his Gampa Dee!

I am also grateful for my father-in-law. He is definitely one-of-a-kind. My mother-in-law says that we aren't allowed to go look at horses together because we tend to come home with a horse or two! We don't always see eye-to-eye on things, but I think that butting heads every once-in-awhile just makes our relationship stronger. He is a great man, and I'm glad to have him for a father-in-law. Sam also loves his Papa J! He is so lucky to have two amazing grandpas that are such a big part of his life. I am lucky to have two amazing fathers in my life who are always there for me and my family!

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my husband? He is absolutely amazing! He is and always has been the perfect man for me. He is a spectacular husband and a completely amazing father. I knew I had a good catch when I started dating him, but I don't think I realized even on our wedding day what kind of man I really got. He continues to astound me every day. In honor of my wonderful husband, I wrote the following:

The Real Man Card

My husband often jokes (usually when I make him hold my flowery purse in public) that he has lost his Man card. In fact, he says that he can't even remember what his Man card looks like because he handed it over so long ago. In case you don't know, the Man card is all about muscles, testosterone, "smells like gas and goes fast" manhood. But I don't think he lost his Man card, he just upgraded it for a Real Man card.
Because a Real Man works hard for his family. He goes to work early, and when he comes home, there's still more work for him to do at the house. A Real Man wants to provide for his family the best he can, and he still wants to be there for his family. He works hard to find that balance, but it often costs him sleep and time for himself.
A Real Man loves his wife and only has eyes for his wife. He tells her she's beautiful, even when it's questionable if she still owns make-up or a hair brush. When he could be hangin' out with the guys, he'd rather spend the evening cuddling with his wife. When she's having a bad day, a Real Man throws in a chick flick, wraps his arms around his wife, and cuddles her blues away. The Real Man listens to his wife's ramblings and supports her dreams. He never puts her down, but, instead, is always there with his strong arms to lift her up and support her through good times and bad.
A Real Man can perform an expert pedicure on his wife when she's too pregnant to reach her toes. He rubs her back, even when his own muscles are tired and sore. He puts up with her pillow-tourage that crowds the bed each night, and he has learned to sleep with half of his body hanging off of the bed. The Real Man learns to make gourmet crepes because that's what his wife is craving. The Real Man can also braid hair, clean the house, and run a bubble bath at a moment's notice.
The Real Man still romances his wife no matter how many years they've been together. He still holds her hand and puts his arm around her in public. And he's still one mighty fine kisser. The Real Man is sexy to the core.
The Real Man still likes a fight every now and then, but it's usually protecting those he loves. The Real Man watches his temper and doesn't even get as mad as he used to when some idiot cuts him off on the freeway, especially when the family is in the car. The Real Man still likes adventure, but also realizes that the greatest adventure is being there for his family. The Real Man spends the money that would have gone toward some cool Jeep parts, or whatever else he's been eyeing, on a new yard for his children.
A Real Man isn't afraid to cry when he says good-bye to his dog or when he says hello to his newborn son. He can be tough and tender at the same time. And a Real Man doesn't mind mascara marks on his shoulder from his weepy wife. He's just always there with a shoulder to cry on.
The Real Man is an example to his children. He tries to watch his mouth, and to do things that will teach his son to grow up to be a Real Man. The Real Man sacrifices so much for his family. The Real Man changes poopy diapers and kisses booboos. He knows the words to all of his son's favorite songs...he can sing Skidamarink, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Pat-a-Cake for hours on end. The Real Man isn't embarrassed to sing a silly song, make a funny face, or do a crazy dance to cheer up his little boy. The Real Man takes his son and the dog on a walk early Sunday mornings, so that mommy can sleep in. The Real Man makes sure his wife and children know every day through his words and actions that he loves them more than anything else.
The Real Man is a husband, a father, and a friend. He is always putting others before himself. He loves God, and honors Him in the service and love that he gives to all those around him.

Come to think of it, not only does my husband now carry the Real Man card, I'm pretty sure it's the platinum edition! In fact, he has VIP status!

And, besides, Honey--what did the Man card get you anyway besides an arm ornament now and then, a handful of big boy toys, and a wild weekend here and there? Life is much better now! =)

My Real Man and my Lil' Man

**Nic read this over and says that I fibbed a little. He says that he still gets mad at the idiot who cuts him off in traffic. I told him that I said "as mad as he used to" and "especially with the family in the car". I know that he's not perfect, but he sure tries hard, and he's close enough for me! =)

Mother's Day

I can't believe we're already into May! Maybe it is because we just had snow last week. Oh well. The trees are still blossoming and the tulips still blooming, so I guess I can deal with the weather too! So I'm a little behind on blogging about life these days, but I do have one great accomplishment--I finished the Volume One scrapbook of Sam's first year (one hundred pages only covered the first six months!), and I'm almost done with Volume Two! Yay! I've been creating the scrapbooks on an on-line service called Shutterfly. I love it. While I've done scrapbooking in the past the old-fashioned way with different colors of paper, fancy scissors, stickers, and good ol' creativity, it is a lot of work. It takes a lot of time. And to be completely honest, I'm not as artistic as some other people are at creating scrapbook pages. I guess you could say I have my own unique style. Anyway, with Shutterfly it's just download pictures (which are all digital these days anyway), drag, and click. There are so many different formats and options, and just this past week they have some really amazing new features that they've added that make things so much easier and more exciting. Little Arliss' book is going to ROCK! I know I'm sounding like an advertisement here (hey, maybe Shutterfly will cut me some more deals like they did with my Christmas cards when they hear how highly I speak of them (because, obviously I'm so important and all)), but I just received Sam's first book, and it is amazing. The print quality is excellent, and the price not too bad. It was about $100 for the book. If you've ever been to a scrapbooking expo, you know that $100 is child's play in the scrapbook world! And I like that if I wanted/needed to make another copy, I could with no hassle at all. For example, one of the gifts we gave to the grandma's for Mother's Day this year was a project. I've designed this Grandmother book that they can go on-line and fill out details all about what they were like when they were little girls, how they met grandpa, their wedding, and anything they want to say to their grandchildren. My grandma made me a book when I was a little girl, and it is one of my most treasured belongings. And we can make the book and print off copies for every grandchild. Without too much work, we can make individual books for each grandchild. I think it will be really neat. In fact, I'm thinking of creating a family history book through Shutterfly. Anyway, I digress. I will end this tangent just by saying that you can check them out at www.shutterfly.com.

Mother's day this year was very special. Nic took care of Sam so I could sleep in (to the grand old hour of eight o' clock). Then Nic made one of my favorites, well, Arliss' favorites, crepes, for breakfast. Arliss loves crepes with fresh strawberries and whip cream. (His list also includes hot fudge sundaes, Cheetos, and corn dogs). Then we got ready and went to church with Nic's mom. She is such a sweetheart. I realize more and more how lucky I am to have such a wonderful mother-in-law and to have such a good friendship with her. I thought everyone was friends with their mothers-in-law and would hang out with them on a regular basis, but after talking to some of my friends, I've found out that that isn't always the case. Nic is such a momma's boy, and I worried when we first got married that I would never meet the standard that she set, but she is such a loving person. She just took me under her wings as a daughter and friend, and I love and admire her so much. When nothing else works, she is the only one who can talk some sense into her son. In fact, she is the only one who really knows how to deal with her husband and sons. They all have the same genes and can be a little hot-tempered and stubborn sometimes. She knows just how to smooth things over and get them back in line. I remember once, when we were first married, we had this big fight, and Nic went over to his parent's house. His mom listened to his complaints and then sent him right back home to me. I think she said something like, "You've said what you needed to say, now go home and tell your wife you're sorry!" She is truly an angel!

After we went to church with Nic's parents, we went to our church. I ended up substituting in the sunbeam's class because their teacher didn't show up. The sunbeams are three to four year olds, I think. I had three kids in my class, and they were so cute. Our lesson was 'I am thankful for my hands'. I love the simplicity of the lessons. I think we all need to remember the basics that God has blessed us with our hands, our eyes, our ears, our bodies, and everything that we have, and we need to have gratitude for all that we have. I remember about six years ago I used to teach one of the younger classes, and I would come home in tears every Sunday. I would get so frustrated because I really didn't know how to deal with these kids. I remember one time I was trying to give some lesson about Jesus and the boys all decided that they were cats and would only answer with 'meows'. They spent the entire lesson crawling around and licking their chairs. I had no idea what to do, and was so upset by my failures as a teacher by the end of the day. I'm proud to say, that I've learned a few things since then. It was like deja vu on Sunday when the three little children decided that they were kittens. Except this time I was able to work it into the lesson--cats don't have hands; aren't we glad that we have hands and can do things cats can't do. And I got my little kittens to clean up the room at the end of the lesson by offering them kitty treats (pretzels). They all gave me hugs before they left, and I felt good about things. This simple personal success was a great mother's day present for me. I felt energized as a mother and was left with the belief that maybe I can do this motherhood thing after all. Such beliefs can be fleeting! I think I will always have this fear that after all of the time, work, heartache and tears that it took to become a mother, what if I'm not a good one. And sometimes I think I put high expectations on myself and don't allow myself to complain about anything because, this is what I wanted for so long, and I fought so hard for this, I better shut my trap, step up to the plate, and hit a home run. But then I realize that I need to allow myself to just be a normal mom. The fact that I had to struggle and fight for motherhood doesn't mean I have to be perfect. And it certainly doesn't make puke or poop smell any better. I just need to be grateful to be a mom with all of its ups and downs, and remember to be grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who is always there for me to help me to be the best mom that I can be.

After church, we headed off to my parent's house to have dinner with my family. Dutch Oven--yum! Yum! We then spent the rest of the evening with my family. Let me just say here what a great mom that I have. My mom and I haven't always seen eye to eye. In fact, I think we butted heads my entire teenage years. But I've really come to appreciate what she has done for me and to see the good things she does for others all of the time. I remember I used to get so annoyed because after church it would take almost an hour to get her out of the building. She had to talk to so-and-so and this person and that person. I would sit in the car and fume or just walk home. I realize now what a great quality it is that my mom really cares about other people and their lives. And a lot of the talking she does is bragging about her kids. She just loves to talk and that's not necessarily a bad thing. I get so shy sometimes and wish that I could just chat away with people. But too often I get all tongue-tied and awkward and don't know what to say. My mom just talks to anyone and everyone. And I love to see what a wonderful grandma that she is. Sam is her only grandchild so far, and so he is spoiled rotten. But I love how involved my parents are in his life and how loved he is. I don't think my children will ever feel unloved in this life with our family cheering for them and supporting them.

Anyway, that was my mother's day. It was a wonderful, busy day. Nic had my blogs printed and hardbound for my mother's day gift. It was such an awesome gift. He did my Infertile Myrtle blog and this blog up to end of 2010. It was a wonderful experience for me to look back over my experiences over the past few years. It was especially tender for me to read over passages from mother's days of the past. I read about my first official mother's day last year, about the mother's day when we announced that we were having a baby (we'll never be able to top that gift to the grandmas!), and I read about mother's day when I was in the midst of infertility. It has truly been a journey full of twists and turns. I remember the mother's day the year before we got pregnant. I was struggling, and as we were heading to Nic's mom's church, I was attempting to eat a Go-gurt (you know one of those yogurts in a tube). Well, as we were driving, I managed to squeeze the Go-gurt too hard and yogurt exploded onto my face, on my dress, and in my hair. I remember just sobbing. And it wasn't because of the yogurt. That was just the last straw. I just wanted to be a mother so badly. Nic and I laugh about the yogurt now, and I'm not allowed to eat Go-gurts in the car, but I will always remember that heartache. And now here I sit, a baby bouncing around in my round tummy while I type, and a beautiful, sweet little boy taking a nap in his room. How am I so blessed? But just like I had to learn to not always ask 'why' in my trials, I need to also learn not to ask 'why' in my blessings. And, looking back, I realize that I felt the tender, comforting love of God in the hard times just as much (maybe a little more) as I do in the good times. I don't think I would change a single mother's day!

Merry Christmas!

What a wonderful day! Sam is not at the age of knowing that he has to get up at the crack of dawn to see what Santa brought, so we were able to sleep-in almost to 8:00 a.m. I think Sam was most excited that he woke up to find Nanny Man, Uncle J, daddy, and mommy all in the same room as him. That was his favorite Christmas present! Though don't let that deceive you that the little guy didn't get a ton of awesome presents. He made out like a bandit! He is one loved kid! Though I can't say I had a rough Christmas myself. Poor Nic. I kept ruining his best Christmas gift ideas (with winning the Kindle and all), but he managed to come up with a winner--a new video camera! Yay! I'm so excited to get those family movies rollin'! I surprised Nic with a couple of presents, including a scrapbook I made of Gimli. It had us all crying when Nic opened it. Such a good dog. We really miss him. It was fun to put the book together though and remember all the good times with good ol' Gimli.
We had so much fun with my family and then the fun continued with Nic's family. Pretty much I ate all day long which is okay on Christmas. I don't know that I'll ever be able to move again! Everything has been such a whirlwind of fun with family and friends. It's kind of sad to think that Christmas has now come and gone. But then again, it is also nice to think about getting back to routines again (though I don't think I'm very excited to dive into the get our house in order project).
Well, I'm ready for bed. Again, what a wonderful time of year! I love Christmas! I hope all my family and friends had a wonderful Christmas. Happy Birthday, Jesus!

On the first day before Christmas (a.k.a. Christmas Eve)

Well, the big man in red comes tonight. I can't believe Christmas is already here! Today has been a great day. We've been out and about pretty much all day. We started in the morning delivering goodies and presents. Then we had my extended family party. It was funny because Santa, being really busy tonight, wasn't able to make it to the party but he left a note asking if the person who is almost the same age as him (my dad) would be his helper. So my dad gave everyone their gifts. It was all good except for Santa's helper told me that I had gained some weight since last Christmas! Stinker! =) Afterward, we went to my Aunt Tina's house and my Uncle Jerry came to visit also. I just love how close my extended family is! I never realized that not all families are like mine where we are good friends and like to visit each other whenever we can. Then we crammed into my parent's mini-van and went driving around g-ville to look at the Christmas lights. Now we're just changing into our new pajamas that Santa left for us and heading to bed. It is about time...I'm exhausted! And tomorrow is going to be just as busy! I love this time of year!! Merry Christmas everyone!

On the third day before Christmas...

Tonight for our Young Women's activity, the girls came over to my house, and we attempted to make faux gingerbread houses. I say 'faux' because we used graham crackers. I say 'attempted' because it is not as easy as it seems. Didn't we make graham cracker houses in elementary school? Why could I do it then and not now? It is a Christmas mystery!
I would post pictures of all of these amazing things that I'm blogging about but my computer is having some issues. My Mac has been having some issues (not because it is a Mac--I'm a Mac girl true blue--but because it has had a long, hard life). My Mac has played hard and worked hard for many years. Well, one of the things we needed to do was to update everything. Nic's phone wouldn't sync anymore, and he can't get his apps to work, so we decided updating my computer would be a Christmas present for him (kind of like Homer's bowling ball that had Homer written on it that he gave to Marge as a present). We decided to take the computer in to the Apple store (to me, Disneyland; to nic, the place of fire and brimstone) and just have them install and update everything. This was last Friday. Well, it turned out to be a little more of a challenge than anticipated. Problem #1: My memory is shot. How did I use up all of my memory, especially because I have most things saved on an external drive? I have video files that are 125 GB for one file. It is insanity! All of my little projects apparently take up a lot of room. I wonder if Spielberg has these problems?! Problem #2: Some things installed correctly. Some did not. Iphoto would be the not, and thus I can't upload pictures from my camera right now. I'll fix it in the morning. Oh, and I transferred my Itunes library over to my external drive and followed the instructions that the Mac guy gave me, but it isn't working like he said it would. I'll live--I just need to figure out everything on my computer again! Problem #3: My video card is dying. Apparently with Mac computers, everything is part of the motherboard, so if one thing goes, it all goes. Basically, the Mac guy told me that my computer doesn't have much longer to live. I almost cried in the store. The new $2000 Mac might cheer me up someday, but for now, I'm going to spend as much quality time with my good ol' Mac as I can. So there you have it--a very long explanation for why I have no pictures posted! =)

On the fourth day before Christmas...

Well, it's almost here--the big day! I'm really close to being ready, closer than I've ever been (though that's not saying much for a girl who is usually doing all of her shopping on Christmas Eve)! Today poor Nic has been sick. He's got a cold or flu or something. All I know is that he sounds like Darth Vader and looks a little like Yoda. =) Hopefully a little soup and OJ will get him back on his feet soon, and, even more hopefully, none of the rest of us will get the bug too!
I've noticed in other posts that I talk a lot about starting traditions, so I've decided that I should include some of my favorite Christmas traditions too.
First, here is a recap of some of the new traditions that I would like to keep going:
1. Making treats with my sister.
2. Going to the Messiah. (We went this year, and even Nic was inspired!)
3. Getting a new ornament every year for Sam that will hold a special memory for him.
4. Going to Temple Square to see the lights. I wouldn't say this is a new tradition, but we don't always make it. Christmas just isn't the same on the years.
5. Going to the Christmas sing-along.
6. I think I want to do something with Sam some day (and myself and Nic) where we take one of our gifts from Christmas and give it to someone in need. Or maybe after we make our Christmas list for Santa, Santa gets to choose one of the items that will go to someone in need. I'm still thinking on this one on how to make it work well to help Sam learn about giving.

Now, for some of my favorite traditions:
Every Christmas Eve we go to my side of the family's Christmas party. Afterward, we go to my parent's house and spend the night. One of our traditions is to pile into one car and drive around to look at Christmas lights. Nic mentioned this tradition the other night as one of his favorite memories when we were dating because it made him really feel like a part of the family (you couldn't feel otherwise when you have someones elbow in your nose and their rump crushing your leg to sleep!). On the outskirts of town, this family sets up hundreds of luminarias (candles in paper bags) and a nativity scene. It is awesome to drive through it!
Last year, none of us were really feeling like going. We were being lazy, and Nanny Man (our usual motivator in all things good) was on her mission. Well, just when we were about to cave in and not go to see the lights, Nic said, "Manda would have us go if she were here. Let's do it for the Man!" And we went. And we had a good time.
Another favorite memory that we love to bring up every year and laugh about was when Nic and I were either first married or about to get married. We were out looking at the lights, and my mom was driving the van. Well, as sometimes happens in a small, redneck town, someone had taken the reindeer at one of the houses and put them in inappropriate positions. Suddenly, my mom (who is apparently blind and shouldn't be driving) turns the car so the headlights are shining right on the naughty reindeer for all to see and shouts out, "Look at the cowboy! How cute!" We were all laughing too hard to really say anything. Finally, Nic was able to pull himself together enough to say, "Mom, you should go stand by the cowboy and we'll get your picture!" Unfortunately, she had figured things out by then and opted out of the picture!
Christmas Eve we all spend the night and all the kids and dogs squish into the same room. I remember one year Jason was all upset to wake up and find himself spooning with Gimli! We even did this last year with a newborn, Nic and Me, Jason, Tinkerbelle, Gimli, and Gus--all in the same room. We'll be happy to have Nanny Manda home this year and Gimli will be missed.
Santa always brings everyone new jammies, so we unwrap our jammies, change, and then do a modeling show.
Christmas morning we go sing to grandpa and grandma to wake them up and then open our presents. And then even though we're already tuckered out, the day has just begun and we head off to our other grandma and grandpa for more Christmas celebrations. Grandma J has continuous food for us all day, and we usually open presents and then watch/snooze through whatever new movies anyone has got for Christmas.
Usually the boys get some toy or other (like marshmallow guns, remote control cars, Nerf guns, etc.) that we have to play with. I remember one year, we had a major marshmallow war and grandma was still finding marshmallows in February!
We have so much fun each year. I'm excited to see how Sam does with everything now that he's a little older than a few weeks!

On the fifth day before Christmas...

So who makes a goal to post EVERYDAY this close to Christmas? What was I thinking? It has actually been nice to write about our comings and goings this busy holiday season; I've just found myself doing a lot of late night, drowsy blogging.
Tonight we went to the Christmas Sing-a-long that the Larry H. Miller family hosts at the Energy Solutions arena. It was actually really neat. It was almost a packed (that's a lot of people!), and everyone seemed in cheerful spirits. We went with Nic's family and had a good time together. There was an orchestra playing as we sang along. To hear an entire stadium singing Christmas songs together was really cool. We sang everything from Joy to the World to Frosty the Snowman. Jon Schmidt (?) also performed. It always amazes me to watch someone who is passionate about what they do perform. I think this would be another fun tradition to start to doing each year!
And now I am off to bed. I feel bad because I feel like this post sounds a little sub-par, but I'm tired, so it will have to do for now.