Girlfriends

I don't think I ever understood just how important women are to each other until I had kids. I've had many fantastic friends in my lifetime and know that there are more friendships to come, but I am still sort of shocked at how important my girlfriends are to me at this stage in my life. I think I believed somehow that I would still have friends, but once I was married I somehow wouldn't need friends like I did before. Well, now I know that it is super duper important to have strong, loving, supportive relationships in order to support one another - even outside of the family, especially as we learn how to love our children and husbands! We share all of the crazy experiences that happen and teach each other what has worked (and what hasn't) for us. We laugh at our mishaps and find joy in our triumphs together.

I have been missing a lot of those deep relationships as I've moved away from close friends and the bonds that can only be formed with time and living through various experiences together. My friendships in the gospel grow so much more quickly than those without, but they can be very powerful too. The past two days I've been touched so much by friends near and far and I've needed very much to feel of their friendship and express my own love for them. I was even surprised at how much a few visiting teachers, whose faces are still fairly new to me, could touch me within just a half hour visit... even with kids scrambling everywhere.

I'm glad that I picked up the phone a few times thinking of others and I'm grateful to friends that have called and visited me. Thanks for laughing and crying with me. I love you girls!

Why we should go the right way

After our primary activity tonight I thought I'd take advantage of the late hour and let the drive home put the kids to sleep. I thought it might take a few minutes longer than the usual 10 or 15 minute drive, so I took a different turn than I usually do. Lincoln noticed right away and said, "Mom, you are going the WRONG way. You need to go the RIGHT way." I asked him why and he said, "because daddy misses us. He loves us and he wants to see us. He is our best friend. We need to go home."

Brand New

Today Lincoln found my bottle of deodorant. He rubbed it all over his body, especially his tummy and arms. When I found him with it he proudly declared, "I'm like a BRAND NEW LINCOLN!" He was too cute to be upset with. I've tried to tell him where deodorant goes, but he doesn't believe me. He's SURE it goes all over your belly button.

While I'm doing quotes from today... We made a batch of cookies together for the first time since we moved here today. He thought that was great and was trying to sneak into them ALL DAY. When I gave him one just after they came out of the oven he said, "mom, since I ate my WHOLE cookie, now I get a treat!" Boy was he disappointed to learn that the cookie WAS the treat!

I've been meaning to put this on here for a long time too... he drinks soy milk for his eczema, but he calls it soil milk. That always confuses people! Many think that he wants spoiled milk when they hear him say it.

Lately in his prayers he is always thankful for "the things we do" (which I'm sure he got from me), but he has added, "and the things that we don't do." He almost always is thankful for the apples we pick from a tree (we have never done this with him...not sure where he got it) and for the apples we don't pick. Sometimes it's only the apples that we don't pick. Too cute.