30 Posts: Day 23

Day 23 - A picture of something that embarrasses you.

*sigh* Thank you cards. They seem so simple. Someone does something nice or gives you a gift and you respond by writing a little note to thank them. Actually, that part is simple for me. It's actually GETTING the card to the person I want to thank that poses a problem.

When Aaron and I got married, I carefully completed all the thank you notes. I personlized them with a little line about the gift we'd been given. I placed them all in envelopes. I just needed to address them and fill them out. And then they sat there. And sat there. I kept meaning to get back to them. And somehow I never did. We had been married about 8 years when I realized that I still had those notes sitting there waiting to be addressed and mailed. I gave in to the shame and threw them out.

Recently, I had lots of people doing nice things for me again. While I was on bed rest, quite a few people in the ward brought over meals. My friend gave a little shower shortly after Rylen was born and people gave me gifts. And I carefully wrote out a thank you card for every one of these people. This time I put them in envelopes and wrote names on the front - thinking we could just hand-deliver them. Eventually I wrote addresses on some envelopes, thinking that I would go ahead and mail them after all. And now, Rylen is 4 months old and I still have all those thank you notes sitting in a neat pile waiting to be delivered.

What do I do now? Do I add a little note on the back of the envelope explaining that I meant to send it earlier? Do I send it without explanation? Do I (and this seems the most likely) keep forgetting to do anything with them until I reach the point of absolute ridiculousness?

30 Posts: Day 22

Day 22 - A picture of a childhood friend.

This is my friend Sally, who was able to come to Vernal for Rylen's blessing. I was so thrilled to see her again! We (along with our friends Holly & Mandy) were practically inseparable from about 6th grade through high school. We spent many nights at each other's houses and had a lot of fun together. It was so fun catching up with her last weekend!

30 Posts: Day 21

Day 21 - A picture of you when you were little.

Hmmmm.... I bet you can't guess which one is me in this picture. ;)

As you can see, I've always had the unruly red hair! Actually, it's actually fairly well under control in these pictures. Which would be a good part of the reason I picked them to post! Sadly, during most of my childhood I was rocking the orange afro. Not a good look. LOL

30 Posts: Day 20

Day 20 - A picture of your favorite book.

Like the question about a favorite CD/album, I had a hard time narrowing this down. I love books and I love so many different authors. Depending on my mood, I enjoy pretty much any genre... though mysteries and memoirs are probably my overall favorite types.

When it came to choosing a favorite book, I narrowed it down to a favorite series. The "In Death" books are set in a futuristic version of New York City and are about a homicide detective solving crimes. I don't know what it is about these books specifically that has me so hooked, but I just enjoy them so much. I'm very invested in the lives of these characters. There are probably close to 40 books in the series at this point, and I've read every one. I get very excited when I hear that a new one is coming out - I even mark it on my calendar with a little reminder so that I can be one of the first to request it at the library.

30 Posts: Day 19

Day 19 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently.

Yep, it's Mr. Rylen (as Haley calls him). With Rylen's birth, we went back to those early days of less sleep, more work (in some ways) that go along with a new baby.

We also went back to the days of long hours of cuddling a baby who'd not squirming to get down and go play. A child who can't back-talk me yet. And one child who actually stays put where I put him for a few minutes!

In spite of the sleep deprivation, I love these early months with a new baby. It's my favorite age, because I just love the sweet, cuddly baby who wants nothing more than to be held and loved. As Rylen is 4 months old now, those days are rapidly drawing to a close already. And while I love watching all my kids grow and learn new things and progress to new stages of life... I will miss these early baby days.

30 Posts: Day 18

Day 18 - A picture of someone who inspires you.

For those of you who are not LDS (Mormon), this is a picture of one of our church's prophets, Gordon B. Hinckley.

When I was in college, I took an institute class on the lives of the prophets. Everyone was assigned one prophet to research present to the class. I was assigned President Hinckley. To research him, I read his biography, Go Forward With Faith. It is a wonderful book and has so many inspiring, faith-building stories. I learned so much about him and found myself very inspired to be a better person and a better person. After checking it out from the library to re-read several times, I eventually acquired a copy of my own. Writing this post has reminded me how much I like it... I believe I'll have to put it on my list of things to read soon!

30 Posts: Day 17

Day 17 - A picture of something you like to do.

I love taking the kids to the park or to ride their bikes at the skate park. My favorite time of year is once spring arrives and we have light and warmth when I pick the kids up from daycare. We often stop at the house just long enough to grab sandwiches for their dinner and then head for the park. They eat bites of dinner in between running around the playground. They have fun. They think I'M fun for taking them. They wear themselves out so that bedtime is easier.

We hang out at the park until it starts to get dark or we know it's time for Aaron to come home. And because we've been playing and having fun instead the usual fights over computer time, or tv shows, or a favorite toy, or any of 1,000 other things kids can find to fight over, everyone is in a better mood for the rest of the night. A good deal all around!