Grateful Sunday

I have so much to be grateful for in my life. My top 10 at the moment:

1. Being a mom. I'm so grateful that I'm blessed by the love of my children. They give love freely, and most often, I'm the recipient. Parenthood has taught me so much about selflessness on so many levels. I try to savor every moment with them as if it were my last.

2. The temple. It is such a miracle to me to be sealed to those I love most in this world. I'm so grateful for my testimony of eternal families. I love the spirit I feel when I enter the temple and the peace it gives me to be in the house of the Lord.

3. Disneyland. I've created some wonderful memories here with my family. I'm grateful for the way it brings me closer to my children. 

4. My Friends. I'm blessed to have the most caring, giving, loving friends a girl could ask for. Most of them will never know how much they have blessed my life forever. I love you!!!

5. A book entitled A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. This book has brought me such a deep spiritual understanding. It has helped me understand life in  way I never thought I could. It has changed who I am. It helps me understand how to attain peace and happiness in a very deep and permanent way. Go Oprah!!                                                                                                                                                                                            

6. The Atonement. It is such a blessing to know that I don't have to do it all by myself. The feeling of knowing I'm never alone brings such security and joy. I thank Heavenly Father everyday for the Atonement.

7. Primary songs. I'm the Primary chorister in my ward, and there is nothing sweeter than hearing the 5th ward primary sing "If the Savior stood Beside Me". Today I told my primary that hearing them sing is music to my ears. I told them if they sang really well, I would thank them for the music to my ears with a treat that was sweet to their tongue. I've never heard them sing more beautifully. (hey - I'll take what I can get - I don't care if I have to bribe with sugar). I also love to see my beautiful boy as he silently sits in the front row - too embarrassed to sing. Every night before bed, he blows my mind by singing the whole song - all 3 verses. My Treyden inspires me.  

8. Yoga. This is triangle pose - one of my favorites. Yoga is my sanity. It gives back 10 times what I put in. Even teaching I feel a peace and stillness at the end of an hour of practice that I struggle to find anywhere else.

9. Prayer. Heavenly Father is just genius. He gives us a line of communication that's always open, always free, always connected, and he always gives us the answers if we just ask and then listen. I gained a testimony of prayer when I was 14, and I've never lost or forgotten what a powerful tool prayer is if you use it correctly. I truly consider prayer one of my greatest gifts.

10. My bed. No explanation necessary.

Knocker Farms

We had a fabulous time with our friends at Tanaka Farms last week. We rode the tractor around the farm and tasted broccoli, carrots, onions, snap peas, and OF COURSE strawberries. I couldn't get Trey to taste anything, but as you can see, he at least sniffed the broccoli.

So we left the farm to go to lunch at the Spectrum, and Trey says, "mom, we go to knocker farms again tomorrow?" 

50 interesting facts about moi

Most of my posts entail a cute-fest of my chitluns. I decided it was time for a more grown-up post. (kind of) 

1. I love bubblegum ice cream. I HAVE to save the gum for last and by the time I'm in a sugar coma I swear I'll never eat it again - but I just can't stay away for long.
2. I have a dream of learning to surf. I've always had a decent excuse, but I'm not getting any younger. Anybody want to join me?
3. I hate wearing skirts and dresses. Maybe it's just cause I'm not very lady-like, but I can't stand having to worry about flashing a beaver.
4. The smell of Kettle Corn makes me want to vomit. I'm a total ying/yang lover, but I just can't handle the Kettle corn ying/yang.
5. I LOVE plain air-popped popcorn - no toppings. Maybe that's why I hate the smell of Kettle corn.
6. I hate the sound of nail clipping. I used to work for a guy who would spend about an hour doing it every day in the next room and it made me want to pull my hair out.
7. I'm scared of the dark. There are night-lights all over my house, and as soon as it gets dark I turn on every light in the house. 
8. I love musicals. There's just something about singing to communicate that works for me. 
9. I have a bodily fluid phobia. I cannot kiss my kids without wiping their mouth first. As a personal trainer I was (and still am) brought to anxiety having to touch somebody else's sweat. EWWW!
10. I love kick boxing. There's just something so teenagish about being able to kick and punch to a Fergie song.
11. I take my pillow with me everywhere I sleep. I have a contoured pillow - without it I wake up with tension migraines so bad they make me nauseous and I can't see straight.
12. Yoga has changed my life. 
13. I miss Ali McBeal desperately. Why did she leave? Where did she go? 
14. I love making out in a hot tub...
15. My left kneecap dislocates and it's the most painful thing I've ever experienced in my life.
16. Angelina bugs me. 
17. I played water polo in high school and have probably accidentally grabbed more packages than I care to remember. Back then there were no girls teams so we played with the guys. 
18. My first kiss was on Tom Sawyers Island when I was 13 to a boy named Brent (not my first boyfriend).
19. My first boyfriend was named Adam and he played the flute in the band. My guy friends used to always tease me that he played the skin flute and I had no idea what they meant back then - I'm glad I didn't - but that's probably why he wasn't my first kiss.
20. I played the piccolo in my high school marching band.
21. I hate bananas. 
22. I love the feeling/smell of a freshly washed car.
23. Halloween is my favorite holiday - my birthday is the 1st of November.
24. If I could live in Hawaii, I would. Maybe someday I will. 
25. My first job was at Wild Rivers, need I mention how much fun that was? Or how many cute boys I got to help down the slides?
26. My favorite restaurant is the Beach Pitt. I normally don't even like pork, but their pulled pork sandwiches are to die for.
27. I'm fascinated by biomechanics (the study of forces on the human body - like physics for the body). I went back to get my masters because I was so enthralled by the study, but Cal State Long Beach fell way short of my expectations. Lucky for me Trey was born after I was half way through my course work. I CANNOT WAIT to go back to finish my degree (somewhere other than CSULB).
28. I hate going to movies. My knees ache after about 30 minutes, and I have to keep moving so I don't get a head ache. At home I lack enough patience to make it all the way through a movie. Unless it involves Johnny Depp.
29. I have had a crush on The Fonz, Luke Skywalker, and Officer Jon Baker from CHiPs since I was a little girl. 
30. I'm a sucker for a good reality tv show. I love Bachelor, So you think you can Dance, survivor, and The Amazing Race.
31. Oprah makes me cry almost every episode. So does Extreme Makeover Home Edition.
32. I love a good food fight - way more than I should.
33. I have BAD arachnaphobia. I have to regularly kill black widows in my back yard and it never gets easier. I use the hose to dislodge them and stomp on them 92 times until they're unrecognizable. I've actually woken Dave up to kill a huge spider in the shower one morning. 
34. My favorite flower is a tulip. Poppy's are a very close runner up.
35. I love to golf. Especially with my husband. Even more especially in Hawaii.
36. In my field I have a specialty with Pre and post natal women. I found out after I'd developed that specialty and I'd been teaching a pre/post natal exercise class for 3 years that I couldn't have children. 
37. My heroes are the birthmothers of my children. I thank Heavenly Father every day for these women that have changed my life in countless ways. I love them like sisters.
38. I love to country dance. Haven't done it in a while, but I hope to again someday. 
39. My most embarrassing moment was in Jr High ( as if Jr high isn't embarrassing enough). I was sitting in a lecture and had the urge to sneeze. Little did I know my body had a bum bubble in the que at the same time. The sneeze caused that bubble to surface at mach speed. On a hard plastic chair, it could be heard down the hall. 
40. I love to kiss my kids on their cheek chub.
41. My second most embarrassing moment was when I was kissing my boyfriend when I was in college. It must have gone on for a while, or I must have been irresistible because he couldn't pull away fast enough before burping right in my mouth. 
42. I love doing laundry - I hate doing dishes.
43. I don't think my husband has ever heard me pass gas.
44. I love to put potato chips in my ham and cheese sandwiches.
45. I love turtles. Before my kids were born I rescued 3 baby turtles being sold on the street in the garment district in LA. Their names were Torpedo, Elmo, and Peso.
46. I live for chocolate chip cookies and a glass of cold milk.
47. I lost my first wedding ring. It makes me cry just thinking about it, even to this day, nearly 6 years later. 
48. My husband can tie a bow better than I can.
49. My hands and feet are always cold. I HATE being cold.
50. I'm the grumpiest mom in the mornings. I'm SOO not a morning person. My poor kids.    

I tag Jenna, Carrie, and Mitch

Boys Gone Wild - Wheeler Style *Spring Break Edition*

Disneyland

a few  of our faves - "Dinosaur Train" , Teacups, and Snow White

Sea World

What is it about Shamu that ALWAYS makes me cry?

San Diego Zoo

...yeah, I also had those thoughts when I approached the Hippo tank. The moral implications of exposing my children to the activity that the photo suggests were unknown to me. As I got close enough to witness the true nature of their interaction, the guilt for the filthiness of my thoughts consumed me as I realized they were just cuddling. (trust me - I got close enough to be sure)

California Adventure

If you haven't seen the new Pixar Play Parade - it's worth a trip and 30 minutes holding a good spot. Way cute. While you're there - you HAVE to see Aladdin. It's a Broadway-ish musical in the middle of amusement park USA.

Pump It Up

Why didn't they have these when I was growing up? This place is so much fun, we visited on 2 different days. We were lucky enough to meet up with Trey's good buddy, Matthew. 

Wild Animal Park

Not as good as the zoo, but the nostalgia of coming here as a child keeps me coming back for more. 

Need I say more?... yes, one thing - I'm exhausted. 

Home of Brotherly Love

It's June 2005, and we're eagerly awaiting to be picked by another birthmother for our next child. I'm sooo hoping for a little girl. As much as I love my Treyden and everything that boyhood had brought to our home, I wanted an excuse to visit the more feminine (and WAY cuter - might I add) section of Baby Gap. I can remember the phone call when our caseworker, Todd informed me that we had been picked. I was standing in our family room and I had been playing with Trey. I could hear the tone in Todd's voice as the excitement built. "you've been picked by a birthmother. She's due July 2nd and is having a BOY." I could not contain my emotion. I grabbed my little boy and we danced around the room for about 30 seconds before I clamored to the phone to make David's day...

...fast forward nearly 3 years later...I thank Heavenly Father for unanswered prayers. I have 2 of the most loving sons a mother could ask for. They have loved and adored each other since the day Caleb was born. Even as a newborn, Caleb would literally watch Trey as he played around the room. As he got older, but not yet mobile, he would cry when Trey would leave the room. Trey would try desperately to pull Caleb out the back door to play in the backyard with him, but crawling was still a hope for the future. 

Even today you can see the closeness these special boys have with one another. Trey laughs at Caleb's mischievous little pranks (even when they're directed at Trey), and Caleb wants to be just like his big brother and do everything he does. They help each other when they have a chore to do. They comfort each other when they're sad. They even share their ice cream and chocolate (if you knew Trey - you'd know what a big deal this is). Trey looks out for Caleb with big-brotherly maturity way beyond his years. Caleb is so quick to apologize to Trey even if he wasn't the offender. They get in trouble together, they play together, they sleep together. Never have either one of them slept better than when they've been in a room together. I'm so grateful for my boys who teach me so much about love. 

I think I'm in love

So I've officially fallen in love with a man named Tyrone. He has the most amazing voice, and his songs ring so true - with sincere emotion. He's my current favorite (just like I change my hair color - I change my musical favorites).