Picture with my heart

Sadly, I am unable to take my beloved camera everywhere. Case in point: our LDS temple.

Last night, Matt and I helped with the Mia Maid and Deacon (fourteen and fifteen-year-old youth) temple trip. When I say trip, I mean it is 4.5 minutes to our church house from our home and fourteen steps to the temple from there :) But, that is what they call it...a temple trip! Matt was needed for his priesthood and I was needed for my laundry skills. Yes, in these small temples the youth group must bring their own laundress. How funny is that?

As I sat there, in-between the wash and dry cycles, I was able to watch Matthew baptize Ali for the dead. What a wonderful experience it was. I thought about our family units here on Earth and into the eternities.

My understanding and belief in the temple promises have greatly increased over the past months and years. Through the blessings of the temple and righteous living, we are promised life eternal. As Matt and I speak of, and plan for, our sealing, it has been a concern for the children. The kids are finally realizing that they are sealed to me and that I will be sealed to Matt which means they will also be sealed to Matthew. Mostly we try to stress to them that we love each other, we love them and Heavenly Father loves them. Heavenly Father will make sure everything is how it is supposed to be. Heavenly Father loves us personally and knows the righteous desires of our hearts. Even the desires of these three precious children.

Here is the picture taken with my heart: it is of Matthew and Ali dressed in white, of Matthew using his Priesthood worthily and together they are helping others progress eternally.

Goodwill Foreshadowing?

Last night Luke, Matt and I prepared to play games while the girls were off doing church-y things. Matt and I sped to finish the dishes and Luke set up our first game...Rummikub. This particular edition of Rummikub was purchased at a Goodwill a few years ago. We do own more than one edition :) After Luke set the game up, he was looking at the box and then announced that I left an "e" off. I told him I hadn't written anything on THAT box and asked what was on it. On the Rummikub box, purchased at Goodwill years ago, was written this:

Can you see that? It says P*A*I*N. I tell ya what, it was kind of freaky!

Luck of the Irish

My WHOLE life I have looked for a four-leaf-clover. Luke has done it within the first nine years of his life!

We had a very difficult time capturing the image. Forgive the quality as it was near impossible for me to get it :(

A Humungous Thank You

Last Fall Ali wanted a new cell phone. We told her she needed to wait a month or so for a contract to come up. Well, she didn't want to wait. She shelled out her own money and bought a cute, pink Razr. Well, it was cute and pink, but clunky and slow. She owned it a month before she started asking to trade phones with me. I had a black EnV2. Four months later and she was begging to trade with me. Being the fabulously, wonderful mom that I am, I finally traded with her about a month ago. Well, from day one I HATED that Razr. Terrible phone. Terrible, terrible, I tell you! So, what did I do? I complained to my mommy! What did she do? She bought herself new phone and sent me hers!!! She will tell you she was going to buy a new one anyways...but I know she secretly did it just for me!!

THANK YOU, MOM!!! YOU ARE THE BESTEST MOMMY :)

Last night I was laying in bed playing with my "new" phone. I noticed that all her old txt messages were still in there. I felt a little guilty for looking and them and was going to just delete them all. But, I looked at a few. She has them going back almost a year. Nope, she doesn't txt much :) Many of the txts were from me. But there were "I love you's" from my dad, pictures from my sister Dana of the twins, and "Call me NOW's" from my sister Sara. Ha ha. But, out of all of them there was one that made me laugh out loud almost to the point of falling out of bed. It was from Sara's hubby Joe. It simply says, "Are you breathing?" How could I ever delete that txt?? Strangely enough, it doesn't even seem like a strange txt between those two. Perfectly normal.

I will have to write down a few to cherish as I will have to delete them to make room for all the ones I send and receive each day.

I love having my mom's cell phone and Ali just txted me that she likes having her mommy's cell phone, too. THIS is the true circle of life.

A look back...

This past week or so has been crazy busy. So crazy busy we forgot to celebrate the year anniversary of Matt and I "finding" each other again. A year a go this week, we started down the road that has lead us here: married, raising three kids and an orange zebra, and buying a house.

It looked something like this....

Sunday, March 01, 2009 12:25 AM (from sunni to matt)

Hi Matt,

I hope you don't mind, I kind of "borrowed" your email address from my dad's address book :) I hope I stole the correct address!

I just wanted to let you know that Grandma Sorensen is dying. We found out she was full of cancer last Saturday evening. You were always so kind to her, I thought you might like to know.

I hope you are well. I hope you are happy. How are you, anyways?

Sunni

Monday, March 02, 2009 8:44 AM (from matt to sunni)

You did steal the right address, and I don’t mind.

I am sorry to hear about your Grandma, she was a nice lady.

I took a look at your blog, your kids are getting so big. Things here are going well we have contracts for the next year or so, which help keep my stress level lower. It’s not real exciting here but generally that is good. Last year I hiked the grand canyon from the south rim to the north and then back again. I haven’t decide for sure what will be the trip for this year. How are you?

How ironic. He said he hadn't decided what the trip for that coming year would be. Boy, the past year has been a trip alright! A fabulous, magical, healing, exciting, fulfilling, exhausting, thrilling, completing trip. I know I am right where I am supposed to be; doing the things I am supposed to be doing.

I love you, Matthew Timothy Paine. I am glad I "borrowed" the correct email address from my dad one year ago. It has been a great trip with you :)