Teeth.....

.....Sean's love for them brought him here


and then kept me here.



Today I got to see Dr. Sean in action- elbows deep in his not-so-secret love affair.



I thought he looked pretty cute,



even though I could only see his eyes and curly locks.


I usually don't like going to the dentist, but when you have tools shoved up your nose and your face sprayed by the little water gun from the hands of a playful dentist, how can you not enjoy your dental visit?



I think I may go back for another!

some of life's lessons learned from dad

LESSON #1 Choose your priorities

I began learning this lesson from my father while incubating in my mother's womb. Apparently times were tough when I was born, and my father had a decision to make. He had to choose between me and his other "baby". His other baby didn't have feet, but wheels. His other baby didn't need constant diaper changes, but an oil change every now and then. His other baby didn't demand attention and just sat patiently in the driveway. His other baby had cravings for gasoline, and never chocolate or boys. His other baby, he thought, was his pride and joy. His perspective, of what really was his pride and joy, may have done a little shifting in a hospital room spring of '83. Even though he had to sell his Land Cruiser to pay for me, and at times-- particularly through teenage years and a week every month, wished he could sell me back, he knows he got the better end of the transaction.

LESSON #2 Sometimes it's okay to expose yourself in public

Actually, this lesson has taught me never to go on the water with anything valuable in your pockets, but I thought the other title was better. My dad loves fishing. He especially loves going at early hours, which I never understood. Secretly I think it's cause he is the "Fish Whisperer" and gets out on the water to coax them into the boat with his charm. However, I think when you get up that early, you can't think clearly. Clear thoughts would tell you to put your keys/wallet/anything else valuable into a safe place on the boat. My dad thought it would be okay to place those things in his chest pocket. Leaning into the water to net a fish + Keys in pocket = dad stripping down and diving into the lake to retrieve keys and lose fish completely. The lakes he fishes on have lots of houses around them, so chances are he has exposed himself, and his religion, to countless people- more than one time.

LESSON #3 If you are going to do something, give it everything

I think I learned this lesson several times in life. Two stories come to mind.

First Story- Us kids were playing in the woods behind the house. I think it was my brother and his friends that started this project, but when you have four little sisters, you are stuck with them wanting to be a part of the action. Anyways, my brother and his entourage were out playing with wood scraps and started constructing a tree fort. It looked good, but was a little on the weak side. Dad came home from work and asked the guys if they wanted some help. That night, our woods had everything they could want- a rope swing, fire pit, chicken coop, garden, playhouse, honey bees, and an amazing tree fort. Dad taught us that night to give your projects everything.

Second Story- I can't remember where the idea came from, but my parents decided it would be cool to have honey bees. So here we were, a family that had all the typical pets- a cat (normal), chickens, and honey bees (how about that for show-n-tell?). My dad would gear up from head to toe to go harvest the honey. One small hole in his face net was over-looked, and ten minutes into the harvest my dad, in his lovely harvesting attire, came running through the woods yelling to my mom to get the hose. His face net looked like a hive- tons of bees were swarming his face. That night we sat around watching as my mother picked at least 30 stingers from ONE of his ears to his chin. The next harvest he was a little more thorough as he scanned his gear.

LESSON #4 Hard work can be fun

I have learned to work and work hard. I never wondered if my dad was going to be able to support his family. He's always worked hard to provide for our needs. I remember being so irritated that we would have to get up on Saturdays- early, do house chores, and then go outside to do yard chores. We would mow the lawn, weed weed and weed some more (we had a LARGE gravel driveway that wrapped around our hose that would grow weeds in it), pick rocks out of the garden or lawn, chop and stack wood (living in the woods there was always a tree that fell and needed to be made into fire wood), and help plant the garden. There was always work to be done in the yard. At the end of a long work day, we would choose a kool-aid flavor and make 'slushies'- ice + kool-aid = slushies. Knowing that we would get a 'slushie' at the end of a ten-hour work day would keep us and the neighbor kids working all day. We always had a nice yard.

LESSON #5 Shoot, cast, aim

Growing up with brothers and then having a son and four girls, I think my dad thought his hobbies couldn't be enjoyed by 80% of his children. Wrong. All five of us enjoy shooting guns, bows and arrows, crabbing, fishing, camping, and are not afraid of going to the bathroom in the woods (except when you have to hike to the hole in the ground in Yellowstone in the middle of the night with bears around).
We each got to join my dad and his buddies as they participated in archery tournaments. The men would shoot and then walk us children up to the kids' line to shoot our bows. We would carry our bows and our arrows on our backs- proudly.
There were days when mom would need to get stuff done and sent us fishing with dad. What a perfect place to baby-sit- kids all strapped in life jackets, sitting still so they wouldn't scare the fish, and catching so many to feed a family of seven dinner.
How about the perfect 'man' Christmas? A dad is truly lucky when all of his kids want guns for Christmas. My dad taught me to speak about and to shoot guns. It may have taken me a bit to memorize this line, but Dad taught me about my gun and now I can say perfectly "I have a Savage 22 ten-shot semi-automatic".

LESSON #6 Heed to the promptings from the Spirit

My dad drove into town to park his car and catch the bus into work. The bus stop was down in the wetlands and all the Boeing employees would park down there to catch the bus each day. As he was waiting for the bus with his friends, he felt he needed to move the truck. He felt the prompting a couple of times and told his friends he would be parking his truck in an upper lot that day. They all teased him for not feeling comfortable that day. Two hours later the river flooded and the lot and all the cars were submerged in river water. My dad's truck was completely dry in the upper lot. He gained some respect and a stronger testimony that day.


The life's lessons that we learned growing up were endless. I am a very lucky girl to have a wonderful father. I remember always feeling safe/protected when I was with my dad- no one could hurt me. I remember a LOT of laughter growing up. My wit comes from my dad. I know I am his favorite. I know that I made it through each school year, with limited problems, because I received a blessing at the beginning of each one. There are many more lessons, and stories attached to each one, but I also know that there are many more father's days to come. I love you dad!

I have wonderful men in my life and I am excited to see my husband lead our family in ways that only a father/husband/priesthood holder can do. I wouldn't let a man into my life that couldn't take care of me like my father did/does. He passed all of the tests. He lucked out with a wonderful father and mother that taught him how to love and abide by good principles. To them, I can't come up with words to express my thanks.

All in a week

This last week was a full one. It had a couple of moments that threw me off, but for the most part it was a fun one!

I am going to start re-capping from last Friday. Last Friday we got to check one more thing off of our list-- we went camping to Ohiopyle. It was a fun trip with great friends. We got in after work and started setting up camp. Sean's eyes light up when we participate in these sort of activities-- he would live in the forest without a tent, if I would agree to it. Sadly, I appreciate my bed, fridge, shower, stove, washer, running water, etc..... I do love a good camping trip though, so we compromise and go as often as school permits. After the tent was set up, it was time to build a fire. In step the men. We may of had to use some of Sean's eyebrows and eyelashes to get the fire going, but it sure got going.



The four of us couples that went, split up the four meals we would be having. The spatula that was going to be used for breakfast had been forgotten, but don't worry-- Sean and his duct tape came in handy. He constructed a spatula out of forks and layers of duct tape. The eggs were scrambled properly and the pancakes flipped beautifully.



We spent Saturday at Cucumber falls and hiking around. We ended up leaving that night, but not before a wonderful foil dinner. I learned something new about foil dinners this trip. I learned that you can fill your foil with all the good stuff and add BBQ sauce or cream of mushroom/chicken to help season-- yummy!




Sunday Sean taught Sharing Time in primary. I think it was fun watching him react to the large and very active junior primary that we have in our ward. He enjoyed it. On Sunday we also took a long walk back into church and then home. It was beautiful outside, so we took advantage of it.


crossing the bridge from Schenley Park into Oakland.


Oakland area-- where Sean's school is as well as church.


Sean was so tempted to drop all of his Sunday "rules" to go and play in this ultimate frisbee game in the park.


Our beautiful building, built in 99. Apparently the neighborhood wasn't too happy about it's construction.

Monday was Memorial Day. We had a ward picnic in Forest Hills. We were ready to get out and participate in some games, when we realized that our keys were safely locked in our trunk. Luckily our insurance covers these "oops" situations and sent someone down to let us in. We got them out 40 minutes after they were locked in. After that escapade Sean was rewarded by staying away from his ultimate temptation on Sunday, and our ward played a large, very sweaty game.

Tuesday Sean started his externship with Allegheny General Hospital. He was doing an externship with the oral surgery residents. After several bloody, teeth-pulling days, he ruled out the option of becoming an oral surgeon. I think the thought of being in school for seven years may have also been a factor....

Wednesday we had a HUGE rainstorm. The freeways had lots of standing water, and we may have hydroplaned a bit. From now on we will stick to the side streets.

Thursday I had a very interesting experience with a guest that came in to get her haircut. She told me she wanted to look like a "bombshell". We started going through several magazines trying to find the best haircut for her new "bombshell" look. After asking a series of questions we found what she wanted. She wanted a trim-- I'm talking, half an inch off! I was suddenly suspicious of this lady. I think she may have been schizophrenic. I say that because when I took her back to get her hair shampooed, she freaked out. She kept saying "I can't do this, I can't do this, I can't do this" over and over. My heart was beating quickly, and I didn't know what to do. I took her back to my chair. When she calmed down, she told me that she likes to wash her hair with natural things. She started telling me that she treats her hair with vinegar, honey, milk, and mayonnaise. Her hair was a mess-- sticky, stinky, and full of debris. She kept rambling about the military, military wives, and the militia. I couldn't make any sense of it. I cut her hair a half an inch and she felt like a bombshell. I was relieved! She then told me how she wanted it styled-- I styled it the way she wanted, but then she panicked and told me that she wanted it in a ponytail. I put it in a ponytail, but then she panicked because she wasn't looking like a bombshell. I styled it again how she first had it. This game went on for a good 15 minutes. We went in circles and I was beginning to panic because I wanted her to have a great experience, but she was scaring me a little bit. I started to feel as if she would never be happy with what I had done. Finally my next guest had arrived, so she knew it was time to go. She told me that she had been reading up on etiquette and wanted to give me something nice as a tip. She felt badly that she didn't have any money, so she started unbuttoning her blouse to give me. Uh-oh! I told her that all I wanted was for her to be happy and feel like a bombshell. I consoled her and escorted her out. I went to apply the color on my next guest, but the front desk came to interrupt me and tell me that she was up front putting all of our products (the ones for sale) on her hair. Again I went up and escorted her out. She again offered me her blouse and told me about some military wife or something that I could never really understand. As she left for good I felt like I was going to cry. I was hoping she had a place to stay, was surprised that I felt so uncomfortable, and was seeing her through the Savior's eyes. I know that she is looked after, but I couldn't help but worry. She too is a daughter of God.

Friday came and was as eventful as Thursday. This time, my guest was 5, she had long hair that had never been cut, and a very sentimental mother. He mother only wanted a half of an inch off, because she still wanted her to have some of her baby hair. This girl would not sit still. She scooted closer to the mirror and made several faces. I thought it was funny, at first, but quickly realized that her mother was going to let her call all of the shots and continually misbehave. I work at a very high-end salon, so to have all the other guests and stylists hear her yell and see her wiggle like she did was slightly embarrassing. I thought it couldn't get any worse, when she began to yell, loud enough for everyone to hear "Mama mama, I cut the cheese! I cut the cheese, mama! I cut the cheese through my vagina, mama!" Oh, I died!!!!

Friday night, Sean took me on a date to Phipps Conservatory. They have some incredible gardens. We walked from garden to garden and thoroughly enjoyed it.




my favorite plants were the hibiscus and the orchids. They are such gorgeous plants!

We had a gift card that we used for dinner at this place called 'Bites and Brews'. It is a typical college hangout in Pittsburgh. The hockey game was on and it was packed! We were squeezed into a small table and put in our order. After our order was put in a man approached us and asked us to move over. We did, and then his group of friends sat next to us. They were a bit tipsy and kept asking us about ourselves. They found out that we were recently married, are mormon, where I work, where and what Sean is studying, and where we hope to head after school. The man told us that we were one of the happiest couples that he had ever seen and then bought our dinner. Wow! We didn't want to accept, but he insisted. So, we still have our gift card and are ready for a second date to 'Bites and Brews'.

Saturday was a productive one. Sean looked so good gardening, in our tiny garden, I had to snap a picture.



And that was our week-- bring on next week!

Falling

(For journaling purposes)

When I got married, I thought I couldn't love Sean anymore than I did that day. I thought that eventually life would get mundane and we'd have to think of ways to keep the relationship exciting.

I remember that several people told me that the love we had for one another would just deepen and change from infatuation to dependency. There have been a good amount of moments that I don't want to write about, but then there are the ones that I want to relive over and over again. Those are the moments that I can actually feel myself falling even deeper. Tonight one of those moments happened. It was simple. It was quick. It was touching. It will always be remembered.

First, a little background..... Sean and I decided that we wanted to try to have FHE each week, even though it was just going to be the two of us in attendance for awhile. We played around with different ideas, and finally settled on one. After the last general conference, we decided that each Monday we would sit down and listen to one of the general conference talks. It has been nice, and sometimes it has been rough- because our lives are so busy, but it has been beneficial.

Tonight we listened to Elder Uchtdorf's talk given to the priesthood brethren. In it he talks about having patience (he probably was speaking to me in regards to my job, teaching sunbeams, and other aspects of my life). He started talking about several different situations that required patience.

"The children of Israel waited 40 years in the wilderness before they could enter the promised land. Jacob waited 7 long years for Rachel......"

He went on, but I couldn't tell you what he said after that because Sean then said this:

"I waited 7 years for my Rachel."

We then talked about how he met me 7 years after his mission.

And that is how easily I fall.

Through My Eyes

Today I watched as the primary children (I especially watched my cute sunbeams)got up to sing to their mothers for Mother's Day. At the end of one song they signed 'I love you' and pointed to their mothers. As they did this, I started thinking of how I must've felt about my mother when I was a three-year-old. My mind did some wandering, and here is where it went....

Through the eyes of a three-year-old, this is what I see:

-a mother who is constantly bending over and picking up after her three kids
-a mother who comes in and straightens my quilt in the middle of the night as I scream because it is wrinkled.
-a mother who sat up at night and read to each of us kids from the hallway outside of our rooms
-a mother who makes everything from scratch
-a mother who sews our clothes, bedding and other various items
-a mother who spends lots of time on her knees, playing with her children
-a mother who can do anything

Through the eyes of an eight-year-old, this is what I see:

-a mother who will drop everything to run me to the hospital for stitches (more than once that year)
-a mother who can turn her junk yard into a beautiful flower, fruit, and vegetable garden
-a mother who never takes time for herself
-a mother who regulates the amount of time we are influenced by the media
-a mother who makes sure our lunches are made with the healthiest ingredients and adds love
-a mother who spends lots of time on her knees and feet, playing and exploring with her children
-a mother who proudly displays all of our handmade creations
-a mother of five, who can do anything

Through the eyes of a teenager, this is what I see:

-a mother who tries to sleep, but stays up until each of her precious children are home in bed
-a mother who leads the young women of the ward
-a mother who loves attending any of our events: gymnastics, volleyball games, softball games, band concerts, mutual activities, youth conferences, youth dances, graduations, plays, and anything else that we were somewhat involved in
-a mother who realizes that each of her children want to make their own decisions, and stands back as we do so
-a mother who gets up and makes a warm breakfast before we head out to early morning seminary at 6 am
-a mother who is tired, but can do anything

Through the eyes of a young adult, all on her own, this is what I see:

-a mother who soaks up anytime that she can spend when her children return home
-a mother who has not only developed, but fine-tuned, her talents as a gardener and a seamstress
-a mother who gives all of her love to her children, whether they follow her teachings or not
-a mother who can't rock us in her rocking chair, but still tries
-a mother who proudly displays our artwork from 20 + years ago
-a mother who savors the small things in life
-a mother who can do anything

Through the eyes of a twenty seven-year-old, adjusting to life on the other side of the country, this is what I see:

-a mother who has an empty home, and now can go back to school, and gives 100% to studying and succeeding in each of her classes
-a mother who has no children at home, and happily welcomes each of them back whenever they need to come, or however long they need to stay
-a mother who is seasoned and can answer any of your questions about the small or great things in life
-a mother who has a very comforting voice, and will talk to you at any hour of the day
-a mother who lives life to the fullest, stands firm in her beliefs, leads by example, welcomes any challenges that may come, sees things with an eternal perspective, and loves unconditionally
-a mother who can do anything

Through my eyes, I have a mother who is perfect. I am thankful for all of her imperfections, because they make her even more perfect!

I love you, mom!

Today

My life, over the past year, has done a 180. Some of the changes have been wonderful, and some have been a bit less enjoyable, but in hindsight they will probably end up being wonderful for how they've helped shape my life.

This weekend I heard something that struck me. I've heard it before, but yesterday it shook me.

First, I'll give a little background.

Sean is the young men's president and I am one of the lucky sunbeam teachers. Sean has meetings every Sunday before church at 8 am. Since we have one car, I head into church early and finish preparing my lesson. This Sunday I finished preparations a bit earlier than usual. I sat in the car as the rain pounded, not wanting to make the dash in until it let up a little bit. I put in a conference cd and listened to the comforting words of Thomas S. Monson. The talk I was listening to is entitled 'Finding Joy in the Journey' (October conference of '08). My favorite portion of his talk was this:

"Day by day, minute by minute, second by second we went from where we were to where we are now. The lives of all of us, of course, go through similar alterations and changes. The difference between the changes in my life and the changes in yours is only in the details. Time never stands still; it must steadily march on, and with the marching come the changes.

This is our one and only chance at mortal life—here and now. The longer we live, the greater is our realization that it is brief. Opportunities come, and then they are gone. I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and non-existent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey—now."

Needless to say, I have not been focusing on finding joy in all of my Pittsburgh journey. I have found joy in many things, but also have found time to complain about things that I don't love about my experience. The joys I have experienced here tip the scale in comparison to the ones that aren't so....joyful, but for some reason I remember the harder moments.

My new goal is to make every day count. I want to take every opportunity I have been given and make the most of it.

I don't want to wish for next year to come anymore.

I wanted to publicly let everyone know of the simple truths that I know to be true, yesterday, but decided I didn't have everything thought through. Here goes....

I know I have had constant companionship from a loving Heavenly Father through all the changes in my life. I know who I am and I know where I am headed. I don't know where I would be without this knowledge. I am grateful that our modern-day prophet put it all into perspective for me yesterday. I know that all experiences are for our good. I know I am loved.

“You pile up enough tomorrows, and you’ll find you’ve collected a lot of empty yesterdays.” ~Professor Harold Hill (Music Man)

I want to make today count. I don't want empty yesterdays.

Sean's 3rd Year Finals

Oh yes, Sean's finals came....again! Sean did well, maybe went to school sleep deprived for a week or so, but did well nonetheless. He's too modest to tell me his scores-- probably cause he's worried I'd post them for the world to see. All I know is that he finished and he isn't on academic probabtion (so in my mind, that means he did well).

His wife, on the otherhand, didn't perform as well.

Sean enjoys studying in a quiet environment. On the weekend he suggested that he head up to school to study. I threw out a new suggestion. I suggested that he studied at home and that I would be as quiet as possible. I am trying not to spend money, and knew I needed to lock myself up indoors for a quiet and productive weekend around the house. In my mind I thought my idea was a perfect one. Sean went to his desk and I went to the couch. He took his exciting books about teeth and I took my exciting cookbooks and books on marriage. The silence began. The wife got restless.

The weekend ended up being productive in a completely different way than I imagined. I caught up on some shows online.....for two days!!!! I had a severe case of cabin fever.

Here is the rest of finals week, a summary, according to me.

Sean sits down to study. I sit down to do some sort of project. After 15 minutes of silence, I decide I need a hug. I get a hug and am sent back to my own little cave of silent boredom. After 15 minutes I decide I need to tell him something. Again, I go walking back to my silent lair. This goes on for hours-- I realized after this week, that I need a certain amount of attention from Sean to keep me satisfied. He needs a certain amount of silence to keep his information retained. Our preferences didn't add up.

Attention hungry wife + Dental school finals student= miserable wife and miserable husband.

All I care about is that he passed. Next time we reach this scenario, I am going to take the wallet and head out. I think I am going to forget that we are trying not to spend money, and remember that I need to get out even if that means a little money will be spent.

We spent this past weekend in D.C. Needless to say, my attention cup "runneth o'er".

I am grateful that finals are through, and that the only big test Sean really has left to take is his dental boards. We are thinking (maybe I mean that I am thinking) I may need to leave Pittsburgh while he is studying for boards.......