We May Not Have It All Together...But Together We Have It All: Happy Birthday...

Monday, May 11, 2009

Happy Birthday...

...To ME! Who wishes THEMSELVES a happy birthday? How lame is that??? BUT, I do have a purpose for it today. I am turning 36 years old today, and I have learned lots of wisdom in my "old age" that I would like to share with my friends and family, so here goes:

10. Life is too short to be miserable all the time. Sure, I allow myself to have a "pity party" once in awhile, but then GET OVER IT - I'm missing the good stuff in life if I hang out at that party for too long.

9. When I thought I knew it all and had experienced life to its fullest (at the tender age of 20), I got married. I quickly learned that I didn't know a thing!

8. My parents really aren't all that mean, old, naive, and boring, as I once thought they were. I really adore them, and guess what? I think they are probably two of the wisest people on the planet!

7. My siblings aren't the worlds biggest pain in the neck, as I once thought they were. They are actually pretty cool people that I really, really like to spend time with.

6. Raising children ISN'T the same as what I thought it would be when I would rock my baby dolls to sleep, and tell them to stay in bed and they did it without complaining (unless you were lucky enough to have one of those dolls that made real crying noises).

5. Staying up past midnight isn't fun...it's just exhausting!

4. Married life isn't complete bliss like I thought it would be after watching too many chic flicks. But it is definently worth the effort it takes!!!!! To love and to be loved is the best gift God gave.

3. Making the effort to go to church every Sunday has more eternal rewards than just seeing friends. Chosing the right has more eternal rewards than just making parents happy. Having an "eternal family" has WAY more meaning than I ever thought it could.

2. Bread won't rise if you don't use yeast (Poor Ira had to endure a lot of interesting meals while I was trying to find my way through a recipe).

1. Thirty six is NOT as old as I thought it was when my parents were that age!

I'm pretty wise now that I am about half way through this lifes experience, doncha think? OK, maybe not...there's still lots to be learned. There are many wonderful adventures waiting to be discovered, and I don't want to waste any time. Thank Heaven we have eternity to keep on learning and loving.

Me at one month and 3 years old

My Senior pictures at 18 years old.

LUV the HAIR!!

Things to ponder: What ever happened to that cute, skinny body?

7 comments:

Davis Family said...: Love the pictures Nicci. That was a great post and I always enjoy reading what you have to say and share. Your family is so lucky to have you. It's amazing the things we learn as we get older!! I guess in a way old age is a gift. Hope you had a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!; May 11, 2009 at 9:08 PM
Mark and Adrian said...: OK I still think you are old!!!! :) Great post and cute pictures.; May 12, 2009 at 8:13 AM
Drapers said...: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I love the hair mine looks like that in my pictures too (curly and big). I love reading your posts. Steph; May 12, 2009 at 3:38 PM
FAMILY FAMILY FAMILY said...: Raising children....too bad you can't just lock them in the desk drawer and come back in a few days! hahahahhahahahahahahha; May 13, 2009 at 9:54 AM
Maria said...: Half way through this life? How long do you plan to live? Either you may want to rethink that, or make a goal for yourself to add math skills to to this list of lessons learned. You do realize that Mom and Dad are not that far off double your age - right? - Jordan ;) (Happy Birthday from your little brother!!!!!!!!!!); May 13, 2009 at 6:28 PM
Amber Bradley said...: Man I am behind on blogging. I loved it! What a fun post. I love the thoughts and pictures. It is fun to look back at what life teaches us.; May 17, 2009 at 6:10 PM
Andi said...: Happy belated Birthday! Life would be 100% different if we knew it all when we were teenagers, for sure! We'd be neighbors if it all turned out as planned! Wish that part had...; May 26, 2009 at 10:21 PM

Kute Komments!

Jarin: "I've been waiting all day for Kamden to grow up...when will he grow up like me?"
4-2010

We were driving by a farm which was being fertilized. Jarin sniffs a big sniff and says, "Mmmm...that smells like my strawberry nose" (the strawberry nose was a yummy smelling gas mask from the dentist)!
Jarin: "Is is "fat man or bat man"?
Jarin "My heart is dirty and needs to be cleaned." Then I wash his face, and he says, "My heart is clean!" (He watched me put lipstick on once, and thought my top lips looked like hearts. Now he thinks that lips are hearts). Which makes me wonder what he thinks when he says, "The Holy Ghost makes our heart feel good."
Jarin asked with a great big smile that melts my heart, "Mom, are you being grumpy with me?" (yes, I was - but that started us both laughing instead!)
We were having a family home evening helping Emilie to prepare for baptism. We talked to her about making good choices and right vs. wrong. We were trying to prompt her to give an answer when Ira asked her, "What's opposite of right, (he asked it in the context of right choices), and she answered, "Left." (you should have seen the look Ira and I gave each other - it spoke volumes!)
Same family home evening... we were talking about the Holy Ghost. Jarin (being very tired and very sensitive at the moment anyways), started going balistic on us. Not only did he say he was scared of the Holy Ghost. And not only was he crying because he was scared, but he was SOBBING, and it continued for about an hour (which is when he fell asleep still crying)!! Then first thing out of his mouth when he woke up was that he was scared of the Holy Ghost! We think we are doing the right thing by teaching our children, but really - we have taumatized Jarin! I can only imagine what was going on in his little imagination. Did I mention that FHE finished earlier than planned?
Ira was feeling the baby move at a particularly active time. He said, "Is he moving furniture around in there?" (some days it sure feels like it!)
There was a baby being blessed in church Sunday, and Jarin saw the priesthood men in a circle, and loudly proclaims "Look mom, their playing ring around the rosies!"
Emilie asked me, "Since our eyes are blue, how come everything doesn't look blue to us?" I explained how we see through the black circle in our eyes. She said, "Then the blue is just for decoration?"
Jarin walks around the house constantly saying, and singing "I am a Child of God, and He has sent me here." And when anyones voices get too loud, he sings, "Love at home... Love at home..." I'm not sure he even knows the meaning of what he's singing, but it stops the contention and usually starts a few giggles.
Ira was talking about leap year, and Emilie asked, "What is leap year? Is it when we leap to school?"
Ira asked Emilie if you put plastic wrap or foil over a pan going in the oven. She said tinfoil. Ira said "Good thinking Emilie." She responded by saying, "No, I didn't think...my teacher told me." (thank goodness for teachers, so we don't have to think!)
Jarin asked me if he could have something, and I had told him no. He responded by asking again, then answering his own question as if he were me, "Of course you can sweetheart." (it's no wonder he gets whatever he wants - how cute is that?)
In church today, a half a second before the sacrament prayer was being said, (so it was very quiet in the room), Jarin observed that his dad was sitting on the stand, and calls out in his loudest voice, "That's my daddy up there!"
Brayden said, "I've learned to never mess with a pregnant person."
Today I told Jarin he was a sweetHEART, and he said, "No, I have a beautiful HEART, and mommy is beautiful too." (a comment like that, he can have whatever he wants!)
This one was said a year or so ago, but it was one of the best we've had ever - so it bears repeating! Emilie said to mom, "Someday I am going to marry my prince, just like you married your prince."
Jarin said, "We don't say 'monkey butt' do we?"
Jarin see's a bumble bee and says, "It's a bum-bum bee".
Emilie singing, "Loose, footloose, kick off my church shoes."

Hmmmmm...

I copied this from my sisters blog, but it's just too perfectly perfect to not be reminded of as often as possible!

Hmmmm....
There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head.'Well,' she said, 'I think I'll braid my hair today!'So she did, and she had a wonderful day.The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head.'H-M-M,' she said, 'I think I'll part my hair down the middle today!'So she did and she had a grand day.The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head.'Well,' she said, 'today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail.'So she did and she had a fun, fun day.The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head.'YEA!' she exclaimed, 'I don't have to fix my hair today!'Attitude is everything. Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

INSPIRATION

"A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation." Joseph Smith

"The things you do for yourself are gone when you are gone. The things you do for others remain as your legacy."

"Fix it up...wear it out... make due...or do without!" - Gordon B Hinckley

"In righteousness there is great simplicity" - William R. Bradford

"The most important thing parents can do for their children is to teach them to feel The Spirit and recognize when it is no longer with them."

Elder M. Russell Ballard: "There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children...What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else."

The adversary would keep us busily engaged in a multitude of trivial things in an effort to keep us distracted from the few vital things that make all the difference."-Ardeth G. Kapp