What to do on a bad day

Some people say "don't go shopping when you are having a bad day" (kinda like don't go to the grocery store when you are hungry) for you are bound to impulse by.

I say, GO! just don't have more than one bad day a month and try to schedule them around end of season clearance sales!

Button Christmas 2009

Faith got a dolly, Danny got a drill and trains. What more did you need?

Happy Birthday Jesus

It may seem ir-reverent to have birthday party for the Christ Child, however, it was an effective way to drive home to a 2 year old and a 1 year old that Christmas is really the time we celebrate the birth of Christ. Thanks to a great story time at Family Home Evening, a stellar advent calendar that has been keeping them paying attention, and some left-over birthday cake from Josh's work, we had a very reverent party for Jesus on Monday.
Merry Christmas!!

"Gin was mother's milk to him"

A two hour 8-seconds

We now have a backyard. It has dirt piles, a slide, and a teeter-totter. As soon as the suns rays hit the back lawn the kids are pawing at the sliding glass door to get out (I have the handprints to prove it). The law is they must be dressed and must have shoes on, and then.....they disappear. It is quiet in the house. They are happy. Best Christmas gift I could have ever recieved.

Hey, it could happen

This morning when I habitually stepped on the scale I thought "I am NOT going to gain any weight this holiday season." Immediately following that thought was the theme song from the Man of LaMancha - "To dream the impossible dream...."
That wasn't fair.

G.I. Joe and Shirley Temple

Proud of Me

My brother and I ran the '12K's of Christmas' on the 12th of December. For the first time ever in a running race - I placed in the top 10! That is the top 10 overall female (at 8th) and a silver medal in my age group! Yahoo! Santa gave me my medal and a gift certificate for finally pushing myself and running fast. I felt especially good when the kids came up to meet Santa as I was getting my medal and I thought 'Ha! I ran fast AND have had two kids!' Totally self-centered, but it felt good for a moment.

p.s. You were supposed to dress up in Christmas themed stuff - I was going for the Rudolph the Red-faced Runner look.

Family Date Day

Boy do we appreciate a day to just be a family playing! We spent a Saturday of the past at the Arizona Science Museum. True to the name, it was very museum-y with lots to read and learn. Josh and I tried to keep track of a child each without getting too distracted with all the miscelanious facts to read.
Faith learned a bit more about how her emotions can contort her face...maybe too much because she has been trying a few too many out this past week.
A digital wall was set up that had 'sand' dots falling down, when you stepped behind it they sensed you and would gather in places and cascade off others. Kinda surreal to have nothing piling on you that you can feel but seeing it do so on the screen.
3-D t.v. made by high schoolers. The glassers were not though.
And our favorite. There was a staged area to demonstrate the weather. You stood there and got it all! Heat (which Faith and I are HOTT!), rain, wind, earthquake (better if you were sitting for that one). The program started every 15 minutes and Faith made sure we were near enough to watch/experience it at least 3 times. I, of course was enchanted with the earth-friendly living exhibits and Josh liked digital stuff. Go figure.
We had Hawaiian for dinner on our family date and finished the day with ice cream and grocery shopping! I cherish these days we have together and try something new.

Honest in Arizona

Today I became and official Arizona resident. That really means I got my drivers license switched over. For the first time on record, I put down my actual height and weight. Not that I lied before, I was just thinking really positively about my potential. My official license is correct now. Thank goodness I hadn't had breakfast when I stepped on the scale this morning. ;)

p.s. sweet sample photo don't you think?

A new Psychology

Last night as I begged to be left in peace to sleep at 9am I tried dilligently to pinpoint why it was I was so exhausted.
'Did you have a hard day today?" My dear husband asks.
No
"Where the kids stingers?"
No, they are perfect angels and they fill me with joy.
"Are you stressed with the prospects of another move?"
No. We always seem to make the best of whatever place we are in.
We lay still another few minutes; I'm trying to figure out how to put in words how I feel and Josh is just confused as to why I won't let him cuddle a little closer. 'Just hold my hand and let the rest of my body relax for a minute' I plead.
Finally I begin to put into words, for the first time what has been causing my body to just want to give up. No, it is not long runs or inadequate food (believe me I eat enough of the right stuff and haven't been doing anything spectacular on the treadmill). I have been really changing who I am from the inside out and my body is confused. It is not the kind of change from one lifestyle to another that would normally cause a person fatigue. I am trying to change who I really am, to finally live the way my heart has told me would be the most healthy mentally and emotional and the old me that is imbedded in all the fibers of my body is screaming 'Huh?" It is not an open rebellion, just a grand confusion.

What is this grand change? Moving away from the "To Do" lists of life that have occupied too much of my mental capacity to the "To Be" lists of my spirit. Putting aside the "Somedays" to "Todays" and the "I want" list to "I will." It is finally stepping away from that fantazied materialistic dream that would somehow allow people to 'see' the kind of person I am and actually just be the person I am. No longer tricking myself to believe the finer things of life will define me. Stop putting change on hold based on a set of circumstances and change the circumstances around me to create a real satisfying life.

The trick: while confronting oneself avoiding the destruction and deception of becoming selfish and really become self-less. I have a very strong testimony of the capacity to become more than we really are through the grace and power of the Savior and His atonement. I have been given glimpses into the Lord's idea of what I am - unfortunately for 14 years I had figured so many of those proclamations of my personality would 'someday' become manifest. I have recognized that I have already had the lessons taught to me that would facilitate the changes within, and I just haven't take them.

Enough with the abstract, here's the example. While serving in Brazil I lived not only among very humble people but very much like them. Nobody did my laundry, likewise no thing did my laundry. So now, as we are facing the quandry of not having a washer machine, the fact is I can wash my clothes by hand. I have before and it wasn't bad at all. Not to say I will deny myself a washer forever, but while we have other more important things to focus on financially, I can wash the clothes by hand. Is that a sacrifice? Am I making myself a sacrifice? No way! Pretty base example, but is one that has illuminated the internal situation of change outwardly.

Next example: I know I love people other people and have a greater capacity to love them better. Like the Grinch's heart that grew and grew and grew until it near bust out of his chest, you can change the size of your heart. Companion to that has been my joy in giving. I am the type of person that starts buying Christmas gifts before Thanksgiving because I just can't help but get that special thing for that special someone. Oh I love giving things! But why does it have to be the giving of things that I love? Can't I just love giving? Yes! So, how do you change from letting others around you know how much you love them and reaching out to them in special ways that will make them smile without your silly little crutch of gifts? It is hard, whether you have the money to get the things or buy the momentary smile or not.

Where is my growing heart taking me? When do I just stop saying "I will" to "I am." Why don't I just change from the doing to the becoming? Because it is hard. At the same moment, it is invigorating and challenging and liberating. Listen to your heart. Listen to the Spirit. Learn those things that are really important. Don't be afraid of change. Keep evaluating. Stay humble and selfless. Just love for the sake of loving. Reach out to others in ways you have never tried before. Even if it causes a little anxiety (which honestly I am feeling mount in my chest right now even and I am writing the thoughts I am trying to implement), you can go to bed earlier and take some time to excersise out the angst.

I sure wish I could give you some better examples of how this is all coming about or making me so tired, but it may make even less sense than the above. Try it, in faith. That is the only way I know to change from the inside out.

Good thing it is already 10:30am

because I would have felt really guilty calling this breakfast:

Despite the claim that it is a "good source of calcium and Vitamin D" and "nutrition to help your kids grow up strong" the second ingredient on the list is SUGAR! And I will tell you, you can taste it! At first I thought it sure looks a lot like dog food, and then I tasted it - it was candy! Yeah! What easier way to get kids to eat breakfast than by crumbling up their favorite candy bar and putting it in a bowl with a little milk. Delicious! Don't worry, the pumped your regular Hershey's bar full of all sorts of minerals and nutrients so it is not just candy. With a list of vitamins A, B, C, B6, B2, B1, Folic Acid, B12, D3, I am not sure if I even needed to take my multivitamin this morning. From now on I am switching to Reese's for all my nutrition needs.

I am the guilty one that bought it on sale and it is the perfect not-totally-guilt-ridden sweet pick-me-up. And I fed the kids multi-grain Cheerios and juice. Yesterday I made oatmeal. So, today I have a nice brunch....definately not breakfast snack. Hey, there's a good idea- the perfect Church snack! Just put it in a baggy and you wouldn't hear anything from your kids until the 'cereal' ran out. ;)

Just my size

For the past two days Faith has created a private eating restaurant for little people. using one stool as the table and then setting another for her brother to sit on, she improvises a Jack-in-the-Box as her seat. Actually it was the Jack that started the whole project. I suppose that there is nothing more exciting that sitting on a seat that at any moment may say "Pop goes the weasel!"
Yesterday I finally just set their lunch on the makeshift table and let them enjoy their food there. I sat at the table observing for awhile and then felt too silly and decided to join them. Pulling up my own bathroom step-stool to stand on I ate relaxedly with the kids on their level. How plesant. I can't wait until we actually get their kid table out of storage and then can enjoy every meal on just the right sized table.

Use what your mamma gave you

In my case that happens to be semi-wavy hair and a great jaw-line.

Just plain trashy

I have been rather involved mentally lately with the idea of being a real bonafide self-sustainable person. With new ideas pouring into my head from good books I have been looking around alot. I have had a couple of super successful trips to the Goodwill to boot! I like giving to others and using used stuff that has a story.




Here's what got up my gander: I live in a rather large apartment complex. There are dumpsters all over the place, and they are always full! Full of things that are totally useful but because someone is to lazy just to get a donation van to come pick it up they throw it into the landfill. Today I was appalled to see not one, but TWO perfectly good carseats in the dumpster!!! I just donated one of our old ones at our storage unit for a lady that runs a foster care home and always need things for kids. Come on people, she could have used them!!! I watched a guy on Saturday throw a beautiful stroller into the dumpster. I actually had the gumption to say something to him as I saw home hoisting it over the edge. "You all done having kids?" "Yep and we have grown out of this stage..." Before I got to "you could probably donate that to a kids shelter" or "I'll take that" he had thumped it into the bottom of the dumpster.

And that is where I am a weak hypocrite. I could have just popped into the trash and got out all the above mentioned items. Heaven knows I wasn't too bashful to do so when I was a kid (we had college apartments behind our house and we found many a cool treasure in the dumpsters just over the fence, not to mention inherited a lot of dumpster cats for pets). But I didn't. I just shook my head and muttered to myself and kept driving past. Argh! Half the time the really good furniture and stuff is not even in the dumpster, it is totally to the side, I could just load it in the back of my van and take it to Goodwill or someplace worthy. Just today there was a stellar plush velvet red sectional between our dumpsters. I paused twice to look at it in my comings and goings to think if there was really anything cool I could do with it...ARGH!

I suppose recognition is the first step in change. What out world! I am a newly devoted second-hand save-the-landfill gal, starting first thing tomorrow, or next week, or maybe as soon as we move out of this trashy apartment complex, ah heck, how about a new year's resolution?

Self Smarted yet not too Crafty

In preparation for birthdays and Christmas (Merry Christmas by the way) I have been trying to find the cheapest and neatest way to print all my digital journaling. Such journaling includes word documents, blogging, and digital photos.
I have found that Office Max and Staples are surprisingly not the most efficient way to go (so there Josh).
I have also found that there are a plentitude of digital scrapbooking sites that claim to make putting your pictures and stories into a cute format simple be not so simple for the un-crafty even if there are basic templates. I need the 'cute-sy stuff for dummies' version of all that jazz.
I have recently found two simple things: Blog2Print and Blurb BookSmart. Blog2Print is not as cheap as Blurb, but it is EASY!! Such a qualification makes it worth the money to me (even if I have been sitting on printing it for a couple of days hoping that I could got a cheaper route with the same amount of ease). Blurb is super cool and uses much the same formating stuff that I am used to on a Mac. In fact, if I were to research it I am sure that I would find that it is really some sort of Mac application thing that I haven't known of until I just self-smarted myself.
Printing all these out will kinda qualify as a homemade gift, at least a very personal one. ;)

Relating to the sons of Mosiah

Elder Jeffery R Holland mentioned once that there had perhaps been one day in his life since his serving a full time mission that he had not thought about it, although he could not recall what day that might be. I hadn't realized it, but I too have thought of my 18 month full time mission to Belo Horizonte Brazil almost, if not every, day since that first day in February 2003 I watched the sunrise through the plane window revealing a country I didn't know, but a people that I knew I loved.

We were discussing in institute today about the sons of Mosiah desiring to serve in the Lamanite nation, despite them being their arch enemies and having sworn to kill any Nephite that came into their land, because their love for them was so great. comprising chapters 17 through 26 in the book of Alma we get an account of their 14 years of service in their hostile land. Our teacher pointed out in class that missions are not easy, yet we often hear so many returning say it was 'the best two years of their life.' There is only one reason for that - love.

I had always desired to serve voluntarily as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It has so shaped the person I am and the values I have. The gratitude I felt for the great joys in my life naturally led me to submit my application to become a full-time representative of what I know to be true. I received my call to serve a few weeks after submitting my papers to Church headquarters. The big white enevelope arrived in the student union center at BYU-Hawaii where I was attending school. Luckily I had checked my mail and lunch time and most of my roommates were around so we went to the cafeteria to open the enevelope. I was anxious, excited, and really scared. This was a huge commitment. Someone else (gratefully a prophet) had picked where I was going to spend the next year and a half of my life, whether I thought it was a cool location or not. I opened the enevelope, saw the greeting letter and skipped to the part that told the location. Brazil. My head told me I was not so excited about that. Why? It just didn't seem like one of the places I ever wanted to go in my life. And then something amazing happened - almost like a magic wand passing from the tip of my head down to my toes I felt an overwhelming love. I loved a multitude of people in that place - Belo Horizonte Brazil - instantly. I can't deny it to this day. I felt in that moment a great gift that would carry me through some really tough times over the next 18 months. I was caught speechless and almost suspended in time, reveling in that feeling, unable to join in the jumping for joy of my roommates or adequately stutter out the place to my parents on the phone. I was falling in love, or even better, was being filled with love for Belo Horizonte - beautiful horizon.

"Now these are the circumstances which attended them in their journeyings, for they had many afflictions; they did suffer much, both body and in mind, such as hunger, thirst and fatigue, and also much labor in the spirit....and they fasted much and prayed much that the Lord would grant unot them a portion of his Spirit to go with them, and abide with them, that they might be an instrument in the hands of God to bring, if it were possible, their brethren,..to the knowledge of the truth. And it came to pass that the Lord did visit them with his Spirit, and said unto them: Be comforted. And they were comforted. And the Lord said unto them also: Go forth among they brethren, and establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hand unto the salvation of many souls."

I don't know about 'many souls.' I do know of a few that I was able to be in an instrument in their coming to the knowledge of the truth. I do know that the Lord sends us His love for people all the time. I haven't had such a physically prominent rush of love for God's children as I did the day I received my call to serve in Brazil, but I have felt that gushy sort of love in my heart for people all around me. And despite the difficulties I may have faced as a missionary, and even my honest distaste for some places in Brazil, I love the Brazilian people. Especially those that happen to live in Belo Horizonte, Vespasiano, and Tres Coracoes.

Humble for the Hope of Heaven

Two 'H' words have really been on my mind and heart lately. Hope and Humble. I have really felt like there is much to hope for in our lives, but never realized that obtaining a sure testimony of that simple principle would be so challenging. And what a beautiful word it is! I keep telling Josh I need to get pregnant so I can name the next girl Hope, he thinks I am cheesey. I love it; I love knowing that there is a great Hope for us all; that the Lord loves us all enough to give us chance after chance to be happy and if we just hold on a bit longer there will be so much coming even if the now is confusing. In the Book of Mormon I was reading this morning it mentions that we are "wanderers in a strange land," fumbling around in this world knowing and hoping for the next. Not to say that we begrudge this whole experience, we simple can hope for a better. That hope comes through Jesus Christ. He is our Savior. It is true and it is lovely and feels so beautiful.

The next 'H' that has struck me lately is Humble. I have come to love this quality more and more. It is not the kicked dog kind of humble I am talking about, that image you get of someone that is humble because of circumstances and the seem to cower a little around others. No. It is the confident humble that strikes me. Knowing exactly where you stand with God and therefore knowing exactly how much room you have for improvement. So often in scripture, as I have been paying attention to the word humble, is it used in context with rejoicing. Rejoicing, really! Just this morning I read within Alma's great sermon in chapter 13 "and now my brethren (which is such an endearing term), I would that ye should humble yourselves before God, and bring forth fruit meet for repentance, that you may also enter into that rest." What rest? Well look in the previous verses and you see that Alma is teaching them that there are many even "eceedingly great many, who were made pure and entered into the rest of the Lord their God." None of that buisness about only a few living with God. No way! Be humble and try your best to repent and you are very much wanted to be with your Lord! Here's today's favorite from that sermon:
But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye man not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering: having faith on the Lord; having a hope that ye shall receive eternal life; having the love of God always in your hearts, that ye may be lifted up at the last day and enter into his rest.

Did you catch some of those glorious phrases? "watch and pray continually" "be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble" "Having a hope that ye shall receive eternal life" "having the love of God always in your hearts" All of those things are gifts. Great gifts. Loving gifts. And they are real promises.

I love the combination of hope and humble. They are a great part of the becoming that this life is all about. That part of becoming that makes me motivated to change with love and because of love.

Pies and playing

Faith helped Grammie make pies for our Thanksgiving feast.

Danny helped Daddy stuff his face.

Max the dog helped the girls figure out traffic rules.

The little clown bike helped Nancy have some foolish fun.

Nancy helped Danny play on the mini-bike.

How to keep cool in an Arizona Winter

More than Raindrops on Roses

This morning I stripped the house of autumnal decorations and decked the halls with colorful lights and fake evergreen garland. I haven't skipped over Thanksgiving, oh no no no, just transitioned into a celebration of Christ and His life, which starts with the giving of thanks and continues on until the celebration of His Ressurection. Maybe I am a bit corny to tie most holidays inbetween to Christ as well, but it seems to fit. The New Year is all about making goals to become better, in essence, to become more like our Savior as He has asked us to. Valentine's is the celebration of love which is the greatest gift of Heaven imaginable on earth; it is the little glimpse into truly heavenly life. And then Spring brings in the glories of new birth, the Ressurection that will make it possible to return to our Savior.

Lest I be accused ungrateful - I add my list of gratitude to those circulating about that make us all feel like singing "These are a few of my favorite things...."
- Josh Button
-my kiddos
-being able to stay at home with my kiddos every day and watch the marvelous things they do
-smiling, genuinely seeing something that makes me smile and enjoying the moment
-being bold enough to make new friends and finding out that everyone is quite nice
-clean floors and a made bed
-hand-me-downs and heirlooms; old stuff is really neat
-family history, not like the really in the past kind but just a few generations back, learning about the people that I can remember or that I admire
-feeling the influence of the Holy Ghost
-knowing that I am blessed
-new projects

New Days, New Ways

Today I took the kiddos to the Arizona Museum for Children. After our last children's museum go I realized that everything goes dead at those places from 12-3 in the afternoon. Thus we planned our trip perfectly and had the whole place to ourselves!!!! Seriously, at least 2 full hours there were no other kids in the building. SO fun. Fun places like that to take my kids makes arizona okay.

I have been lately reading a lot of "No Impact Man" a fantastically different kinda think book. I have been taking mini steps toward revolution of self-sustainabilty and I like the ideas in this book. The main message is not that we should all worry about greenhouse gases, but the quality of life we are really seeking. EXACTLY! Get the trash and the rush out of the way and you find what is really important; health and family. Throw in the truth of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and life is perfect.

I have realized in light of all my recent thoughts that although I am not perfect, I am okay with getting more perfect. I love people. I love the gift of charity. I love having words from the Prophets cycling through my thoughts. A good run with good speakers makes my day. Nap time and some great reading material makes my afternoons even better! Reading the Book of Mormon with my family is fantastic.

Mental Anguish

Perhaps my previous post was a bit dramatic, I just didn't have the mental where-with-all to go through the story one more time.

The associated press version is: Mesa and Gilbert SWAT teams were called out 8 am Tuesday morning to respond to a drug bust in --Apartments. Four suspects were apprehended after tear bombs were shot into the apartment. Several packages of trafficed illegal drugs were found int he apartment.

So why do I get the feeling that by sitting here calmly in my apartment two doors down from said incident that I am defying all motherly instincts? Shouldn't I be frantically packing up our belongings, shipping our children on the next bus up to Idaho and screaming at the management about having been held hostage in my own apartment with small children while there is a gun raid going on next door!!! Granted yesterday after we were cleared to usher the kids to the van thus avoiding the release of tear gas from the bombed apartment I took my kids out of the complex and didn't really want to return, at all. I laughed nervously on the phone as I explained it to Josh and my Mom. I went and got a large milkshake and greasy fries. I drove around writing down he numbers on any "For RENT" house I saw. I did return by dinner time not being able to justify eating french fries for a second meal that day, after all there were no gun shots other than the tear gas bomb and policemen really are nice sounding on the large intercoms. Yet, when I returned 'home' all the neighbors were casual and talking together as if the morning was only mildly unusual.

So do I just ignore what happened? Continue on said plan of waiting until offers go thorugh on houses we want to buy? Do we jet out of here before anyone knows we packed a box? And why was it so easy to get up, say forget it, and mop the floors to be ready to go to story time at the library?

"Don't worry sweetie, the nice men with guns are helping us get to the car..."

needless to say...our move-out date has been expedited.

Gunga Din

Saturday night we watched a movie called “Gunga Din” which I picked strictly for its title. While we were living with Mildred (a lovely 93 year old woman), she constantly had old movies on her TV. One night we went upstairs to watch some black-and-white with her. We watched a cute movie that will forever remain titleless since it was on AMC and they don't have commercials and the fact that even if I did hear the name, I would forget it. The black-and-white was a cute show in which a lady mistakenly ends up with an orphan baby and then likewise get it mistaken for her bosses seed. At one point this awkwardly positioned couple is having one of the ‘my baby is so smart’ conversations in the park with a veteran parent couple and the new pretend dad says ‘oh yes, our infant recited all of Gunga Din just last night” it was a funny conversation that Josh and I have used ever since as the ultimate display of ridiculous one-up-manship. If ever we catch ourselves in a bit of that silly prideful comparative conversation then we stop it with a quick reference to Gunga Din. So when I saw the movie I had to pick it up. Much to my great happiness, it starred Cary Grant! The show was hilarious. Grant at his most comical and rather young. And the movie gave away the secret to the often referenced Gunga Din, it is a poem written by Rudyard Kipling. Now I might just get literate and read the poem!

Laugh it Up

Today while Faith and I were reading books on the couch, I looked over to see a giant rat sniffing at our screen door on our front porch. Luckily my cousins had kept rats as pets so I was not terribly afraid of the large vermin on the porch, just surprised. I quickly went to block the drain exit on the porch with the cooler and then went back inside to call the apartment complex. The nice thing about living in an apartment (and it may well be one of the only nice things) is that when you have large vermin you can get someone else to take care of them.

When I called the office I got the "WHAT?!" response followed by "but we don't have rats here." Sorry bud, you do now. They quickly dispatched their two kindly maintenance men that came skeptically and unprepared. A broom was not going to do the trick. After seeing our hidden friend camped out behind the barbecue the all believed me that there was a six inch black rat on my porch. They jumped back a bit from the porch and pondered on what they would actually do. Assessing that the rat was cleaner than a regular trash monger, they figured he was safe enough to capture by hand. It then took about 5 minutes for one man to find leather gloves while the other guy proceeded to aggravate the calm creature by forcibly trying to get him into a 5 gallon bucket, which it promptly jumped out of. Faith and I watched calmly from our side of the screen door.

After the attempt to get the poor creature into the bucket, Faith determined that he was hiding in the corner because he was scared and the best way to lull him out was to get a story to read to him. She promptly went to get a book and sat down next to the screen to show the rat the pictures. Soon thereafter the leather gloved custodian came back to pick up the misplaced pet and carry him away. Little did I suspect that the worker would want to carry the rat through my apartment and out the front door so that he didn't have to vault the balcony. I told him to get a firm grip and then he could pass.


Adventure concluded. I laugh. Josh apologized. I just laugh. It makes life worth it to have such funny experiences happen while living in apartments.... after all, my Grandpa Virgil was famous for saying "There's no use in complaining cuz no one gives a damn anyways."

Unsolved Mystery Uncovered

On Friday night when Josh and I left for a date, Faith was secure with her pink blankey, on the couch. That night when we returned, I tucked her into bed assuming that blankey was there beside her. Much to my amazement, in the morning when she tapped me to climb into our plush bed, pink blankey was not draping behind as I pulled her up. We cuddled for awhile and then got up and went on with our day. As she was about to go down for her nap, Josh and I realized that something was truly missing. Blankey had not been spotted that day at all! Where had it gone? I suppose we had not been direct enough with the babysitter about the importance of watching all silky blankets as well as the children. Faith was momentarily distraught that blankey could not be found. We looked all the usual places, and then the unusual places. I quickly subsituted in a fleece yellow blankey, which served a cuddling purpose. Yet the absence of the long comforting friend disturbed me! Had it been stolen? Had Faith left it outside and some stray cat taken it away to make a cozy bed? Had the babysitter dealt the ultimate punishment and banished blankey to a stinky death? WHERE WAS BLANKEY?!?

For days now I have been trying to calm down the nagging in my head as to the location of blankey. I kept trying to be reassured that it couldn't have been eaten by monsters or fit down the garbage disposal. It just had to be some odd place. It wasn't in the cars, or the fridge, or under any of the blankets or mattresses in the house. All closets were interrogated and found innocent. Yet blankey was still missing.

All it took was one good laundress to find that missing sleeping companion. Upon replacing all clean and folded clothing to their own rightful holding place, the misplaced misfit was discovered. Blankey had been camping out in the bottom drawer with Josh's jeans. Why? We may never know. But for now, blankey sleeps softly with her reunited mistress.

Make this a tradition...please

Josh and I celebrated our 4th anniversary on Friday night (late of course, no fun celebrating on the same day, right). We stayed up later than we have for approximately four years, but I just couldnt skip out at intermission! Despite my body's protests, my heart and eyes were captivated by our Oddette and I just couldn't miss her heart breaking end. I have waited years to finally see a professional performance of Tchaikoskvy's "Swan Lake." It was worth every moment.

For our second anniversary we saw a production of "Carmen" in ballet in Boise. We loved that one too. Great music and just mesmerizing altheticism. Even after my very limited attempts at Yoga and trying to hold my leg in the air for a few seconds I appreciat emore their balance and agility. Not to mention absolute grace! I kept thinking how lovely it would be to watch Faith dance that way, or dance at all (booty shaking doesn't count)!

Halloween 09

No coats.
No knocking on doors - just enjoy the decorations and people wait on the driveway to give you candy.
No frostbite. Faith is sitting next to her kitty pumpkin.

What can happen when you read the news and open your mind a little

I recently read an article in the Arizona Republic about a couple that took one week to live more "eco friendly." It intrigued me. The couple were not going extreme, they were just rethinking some of the things that they were currently doing. Each day the explored a less environmentally impacting aspect of their life, ex. food, transportation, water, electric consumption, waste production.

I am a big fan of re-thinking every-day practices and so it go me thinking what parts of their experiment would be applicable in our life both currently and in the future as we hope to have a home of our own. I discussed them with Josh a bit this morning, and too my great pleasure, Josh also thinks there are wonderful things we can do to become more 'self-sufficient' (which is a much better serving term for us since we really don't make changes based upon the effects they are having upon our planet, more so upon our checkbook). Could we survive in a convinient society without any outside resources? Or more effectual, can we save more of our hard earned money by consuming and wasting less?

I did a bit more research this morning online and found out that according to a Low Impact site, we are doing pretty good at being eco-friendly, but my favorite part of the site was that they showed you projects you could implement starting pretty simple to getting pretty big. I liked most of the list it came up with for our current household. I am a big champion for being frugal, so the part I liked most was the comparison of how much it would cost to make the change, and then the annual savings it would give you. Somethings saved you nothing, and it was nice to see that honest comparison. Point being - alot of the current rave of 'living green' fall into our family goals of being provident providers and living self-sufficiently.

Some goals/ideas we like:
-Drying all our clothes on the line
-changing all lightbulbs to low efficiency (we just broke down and bought our first box of lowE and were surprised to see that a bulb that puts off 60w of light only takes 13w of energy! cool)
-install solar panels
-save waste water to reuse in irrigation for your yard and garden (which currently has no effect on us because we don't pay for water in our apt and we have no yard, but it is nice to plan)
-turn down the water heater (or make it solar/radiant heated)
-buy less packaged food and make more from stratch
-buy everything second hand (thanks to a low budget we have been doing a pretty good job of this, but after ripping tabs off some new pants for Faith this morning I realized I can do much better)
- recycle more
-create a compost for your home (the 'No-Impact Guy' did this even in their NY high rise apt)
-walk anywhere within 5 miles, bike anywhere within 15 miles and only drive when necessary
-turn off, or get rid of the TV (we really like this, we find we have more time as a family to be creative, literate, and fun! especially the time it profits in the evening for Josh and I to just talk together)
- turn off the water during the parts of the shower you don't actually need it (it is an intriguing idea which reminds me of parts of the world that take bucket showers, it is possible)
-buy biodegradable detergents (which would be helpful when we are using waste water as irrigation)
- make the pretty embroidered personalized hancerchiefs of yester-year (this idea just came to me as I witnessed Faith just go through yet another box of kleenex that was part of my 3 month supply which has been reduced to 1 sick week with the help of Danny transfering all the tissues to a minute blow at the nose, crumpled, and then put in the trash)

for more of my half-baked frugal ideas you can visit my other blog

What the Constitution is for ---not just liberals!

I have recently been feeling rather economic and political, all of which things tie deeply to the doctrines I believe in. Yesterday I read this article which has really been cycling around my thoughts:
Apostle Says Religious Freedom Is Being Threatened
My heart aches when I think of the world that my children are facing. I know, that sounds rather extreme, nonetheless, I truly feel the responsibility I have to my children to raise them in righteousness. In fact, that was the Visiting Teaching message this month. I know the Lord has prophets and apostles on the earth today to continue teaching us the truths that we need to know so that we can be safe and happy. After all, the Lord's plan is the Plan of Happiness. It is just so sad that the opposition is getting so very combative.

Elder Oaks says:
In choosing my subject I have relied on an old military maxim that when there is a battle underway, persons who desire to join the fray should “march to the sound of the guns.”[i] So it is that I invite you to march with me as I speak about religious freedom under the United States Constitution. There is a battle over the meaning of that freedom. The contest is of eternal importance, and it is your generation that must understand the issues and make the efforts to prevail.
Continuing the states:
Along with many other religious people, we affirm that God is the ultimate source of power and that, under Him, it is the people’s inherent right to decide their form of government. Sovereign power is not inherent in a state or nation just because its leaders have the power that comes from force of arms. And sovereign power does not come from the divine right of a king, who grants his subjects such power as he pleases or is forced to concede, as in Magna Carta. As the preamble to our constitution states: “We the People of the United States . . . do ordain and establish this Constitution.”

Go read the rest! It is amazing. Josh and I have had several more political conversations lately based on many of the principles that the Constitution and the Gospel are founded on. Perhaps it has taken a president that we don't exactly agree with to awaken us to so many of the other subtle battles that are being fought politically and morally in our country. I am just so extremely grateful to have the words of apostles, prophets and seers to guide me during these last days. *sigh*

My Favorite Day of the Year

October 27th is my very FAVORITE day of the year! It beats all holidays and birthdays by far! I didn't even know until 4 years ago that October 27th would be the day that everything changed for the best for me!
And here's why:


See those gleaming rings and goofy grins?! That says "We just got married!!!"
Joshua Andy Button and Nancy Hancock were sealed in the Idaho Falls, Idaho Temple at 10am on Thursday October 27th, 2005.


What a gorgeous autumn day it was!


We actually broke tradition and held a pre-reception which we just called a celebration the night before on Wed Oct 26th at my parents' cabin in St. Anthony Idaho just on the banks of the Henry's Fork of the Snake River.


We did the family meet and greet-all that night; My folks flew in from CT that day and Josh's family drove over from WA and they all met for the first time all dressed up at the cabin. Josh and I really weren't even available to do the introductions cuz we were getting ready. We were blessed to have all of our family together comprising travelers from WA, TX, UT, AZ, CT, and FL.



as well as both sets of my grandparents (Grandpa Rasmussen was 90years old and Grandpa Hancock just passed last year)

We cut the cake that night. It was a yellow cake that I pleaded with Josh to not smear since I really wanted my dress to be nice for the actual wedding day. We saved the top tier for our 1st anniversary and served the other two layers as refreshments.



My beautiful sisters and bestest friends were my matching maids.


Josh got a censored garter pull and I threw the bouquet to the gals the next day. Of the four running for the flowers (Jill was leaving for a mission a month later so she really didn't need to catch it) Charisa was the next to get married although Ellie caught the bouquet (height advantage) who is actually the last one of the bridesmaids not married..;)



Yet, despite all the fun and excitement of those two celbratory days, what I remember most is this: knowing I was absolutely happy and that I would always be happy as long as Josh was with me. In four years we have moved 9 times, had 2 beautiful children, gone through graduate school and plenty of other 'stressers' yet we have not had more than one major fight! As I knelt across the altar from Josh, just waiting to say my part, I got more and more excited until I finally got to burst it out in a "YES!" All those promises I made to Josh that day I still hold true to. He is my one and only, my best friend, flesh of my flesh and I cleave to him as I do to no one else. I love him or today than I did on that day I felt I would burst with love, and I will love him more tomorrow! Happy Anniversary! This is the best day ever (so far)!