Sad Day...

I know in the realm of sad things this barely makes the scale, but- today we sold the crib.

Camille has been using it as a toddler bed, but she literally took up the entire bed so we knew it was time to upgrade. I found a great deal for a day bed on our local bargain site, and today we made the switch. Then, with great reluctance, I posted the crib and poof- it is gone.

I was so sad to see it go! But, I couldn't justify holding onto it for 15 years until our kids have kids. We have too much stuff in our house as it is!

Here it is- the first day we set it up, back when I was pregnant with Audra in our old townhome.

Ben was going to set the bed up on Friday when he has off of work. But, as the older girls were at Cloverleaf today, Camille said in the sweetest voice possible, "Can you set my new bed up, mom?" How could I say no?

Then we headed over to Bed Bath and Beyond and I let her choose a comforter.

She said about 12 million times today, "I love my new bed!" She was quite excited to go to bed tonight.

We also said good-bye to our beloved rocker- which you can't even see in this last picture of it, but you can in the one above. We actually got this rocker by dumpster diving, but it served us very well for 10 years and three babies. The girls were very sad that we gave it away because they like to rock their dolls in it, but we simply don't have the room for it.

The baby years are definitely over. While I'm glad for that, I'm still sad to see the last remnants of their babyhood go.

Here a couple shots of baby Audra (above) and Claire (below):

Here's to moving forward!

A Woman's Place Is In the Resistance!

Today I had the great honor to attend the Women's March in downtown Denver. I wasn't sure I wanted to go, but in the end I knew that this is a momentous and historical day, and I want to be able to tell my great-grandchildren that I was there.

I can not explain how happy I am that I went! To be there among tens of thousands of women who believe in human rights, in humanity, in kindness and goodness- and in standing up to tyranny and injustice- was simply indescribable.

Women really are awesome.

In the end, this sums up why I knew I needed to go:

"I have daughters- I can't afford to give a self proclaimed sexual predator a chance!"

In a world where bragging about groping women is simply deemed "Locker room talk" and "Boys will be boys," I want my daughters to know that sexual assault of ANY kind is NOT OK! They deserve better- every woman in America deserves better, and I want my voice to be heard loud and clear that I am NOT OK with anybody- let alone a president- treating women as objects simply meant for their sexual pleasure.

I want my daughters to always know that their mom stands up for what she believes in- even if it makes her unpopular.

I want to say loud and clear that I am part of The Resistance. I will, indeed, fight our President every time he tries to take away rights from minorities, insult women, take away Freedom of the Press (which he is VERY much attempting to do right now), destroy our democracy, and silence the voices of millions of women across the country who refuse to condone his behavior. I will not accept his behavior as "normal" and "acceptable."

Because I have daughters.

It was a little chilly, but over 100,000 people showed up in Denver! I got a bit emotional, and was so grateful to be with my brothers and sisters to show our solidarity. DT supporters say that he will unite our country, and today I definitely felt united! So, thank you DT, for uniting me with my fellow Patriots against your hate!

I'm glad I was able to go with some great friends:

This was a random lady in the crowd, but I was SO THRILLED to see women of all ages in attendance! Of course, I also saw a lot of signs that said, "I can't believe I still have to fight for this crap!"

There were so many great signs- there are a lot of brilliant people out there!

"They thought they were burying us, but they didn't realize we were seeds."

"I will not go quietly back to the 1950's"

"Fight like a girl!"

I had to get this picture for Ben:

It was a great day!!!

Audra's First Salad

I'm trying to get the girls more involved with meal prep. Audra was very proud of her first salad. Little does she know she is now completely in charge of salad making for our family!

Sledding!

Even though we have had a little bit (though not too much, especially compared to Oregon) of snow, on the days that it has snowed the temps have been freezing. Finally, on Sunday night we got a decent storm of about 6 inches, and the weather was in the 40's, so for the first time this season we were finally able to go sledding. Audra and Claire's best friends Chloe and Avery came with us, and there was great excitement! The girls had a fabulous time for about two hours until Camille landed face first in a pile of snow and we decided it was time to go home.

12 Years!

Despite our best efforts, it seems that time just keeps marching forward, and all of a sudden we wake up and Ben and I are celebrating 12 years of marriage.

We both had a lot of church responsibilities today so we hardly saw each other, so we celebrated on Friday night.

Ben's parents were very generous and agreed to watch our kiddos for most of the day Friday and overnight into Saturday, and we had a great time together. We went and saw La La Land- which I absolutely LOVED. It's probably one of my top 5 favorite movies. I thought it was so simple and beautiful- a story of love and how the choices we make effect our relationships. Ben didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I did. He wanted to go see Rogue One, but he relented when I reminded him that our anniversary is the ONE time each year that I get to have romance instead of action. He grudgingly obliged. Anyway, go see the movie. It's beautiful.

After that we went to The Melting Pot for dinner. Our favorite course is always the cheese course, and once again it did not disappoint. The Wisconsin Trio- YUM!

We had a nice lazy morning on Saturday and Ben bought me some flowers. It was wonderful- all of it. Especially the part where I have gotten to spend the last 12 years with this guy. It is so great to be married to man who is so good, genuine, honest, and kind. He loves me and the girls with his entire being, and works hard at being the best father, husband, and employee he can be. We make a pretty awesome team, I'm not going to lie. Twelve years sure sounds great- I can't wait for the next 12!

Claire's FHE

Because all three girls refuse any help in planning their FHE lessons, we never quite know what to expect when it is one of their turns to teach.

But, Claire gave a really sweet lesson the other night about the Book of Mormon, and she even made her own version of the Book of Mormon:

 "Everyone should be nice to each other. Even if you are annoyed at them. Jesus wants us to be happy. Satan wants us to be sad. You should not follow Satan he is mean and vain. Heavenly Father and Jesus love us. Satan doesn't love us. Jesus died on a cross for us so we could live with him again. He made your body which has flesh and blood. He made your hair and your ears. Heavenly Father loves you more than anybody in the world. He made the tress and the flowers and everything else on the earth. He has twelve apostles."

As a mom, I often question just how badly I am screwing up my children. But then my sweet 7-year-old does something like this and I know that Ben and I must be doing something right. My heart just melts.

That Day You Woke Up And Realized You Entered The Year Democracy Would Die...Or, my 2017 Predictions

This years predictions are difficult for me. Not because I don't have a great life and feel like Ben and I are in a really great place in our lives, because I do. If I could freeze time at this exact moment, I would.

But I can't. And if I look at 2017 objectively, it's very difficult for me to get excited when I remember that DT is about to become president of this great country. For the first time in my life, I have a feeling of dread for the new year, and I am without hope that things will end well for this country, even though I do believe things will work out fine for our family. It's a very interesting place to be.

I read, however, a wonderful article this morning that had me feeling much more optimistic.

The original article can be found HERE (and I highly recommend the entire article). Here's a snippet:

"I want to reflect on one of the more depressing sentiments I’ve heard friends express since election day: that they can’t wait for the next four years to be over.

But quadrennial presidential cycles are a terrible frame to mark the timing of our lives. Hoping for time to pass swiftly makes our lives seem small and unworthy.

We can’t let four-year chunks of time determine our emotions and gloss over the gift of our very own lives, as if presidential politics are more important.

So please remember: you are important, every day, much more so than any of the grifters headed to the White House.

I was similarly dismayed throughout the 2016 campaign to hear friends say that they couldn’t wait for the election to be over. What did they miss while hoping for life to be over more quickly?

...Embracing and celebrating my full humanity is neither contingent upon presidential administrations nor on a particular sense of safety. I’ve buried too many loved ones – and learned how important it is to be with them in that process despite not being able to “do anything” – that I don’t want my days to pass quickly, even the difficult ones.

I don’t want to wait for four years to feel good about living again, any more than I want any of you to miss being present for all the hugs, tears ... the first kisses and last words, the shade or the laughter that make up the days of our lives.

What you think is important. What and who you read is important. Poetry is important. Science is important. Don’t let anyone tell you that thoughts, daydreaming and critical theorizing aren’t important in days like these...

As we face a highly uneducated, anti-education presidential cabinet, we need our critical minds and creative spirits going more than ever. We need this to fight but also just because it’s fun to think about the moon, iambic pentameter or the sea.

I am not saying that the well-being of the things that are important to you are not interconnected with presidential politics. Nor am I advocating that we ignore who is coming to power in just a few weeks. We need to be ready for the fight of our lives, and self-care alone is not an effective remedy for what is headed our way. A full-on resistance to an accelerated crisis of autocracy and xenophobia is necessary. Many of us will be in harm’s way.

But along the way we must not forget: you are important. Despite the hell it wrought, 2016 was still the most extraordinary year of my life – not due to a quaint idea of happiness, but because of experiencing growth, of being present to pain....

My life is not going to be dictated simply by celebrities or politicians (or a president-elect who embodies the worst traits of both). Nor should yours, even as he comes at us."

So, in this spirit- of enjoying life, while also realizing that there will be some fighting coming, here are my 2017 Predictions (made in as positive a spin as I can muster):

1. Broncos will have secured a wild card play off spot (see how positive I am being?)

2. Patriots vs. Seahawks in the Super Bowl. Seahawks win.

3. We will FINALLY take back our school board and beat the Koch Brothers to regain the majority of the school board

4. Camille's speech will greatly improve and we will not need to sign her up for 1st grade

5. Audra will go to state fair for a sewing project

6. Our country will be embroiled in some sort of international dispute due to a tweet (probably more than 1)

7. Republicans will blame Obama for that international dispute, completely ignoring the facts and making up their own fake news

8. I will go the entire year without hearing DT's voice (which is my goal for his entire 4 year presidency)

9. Resistance groups will mobilize and fight DT at every turn, making his life miserable and causing him to get bored of being president, moving him on to a shinier token to play with, and leaving Pence actually in charge of ruining the country (I love me some resistance groups!)

10. We will continue to enjoy the daily grind of homeschooling, being a family, traveling, and just loving life.