so my brothers may be the only ones who appreciate this- but I still had to share. Weird Al Yankovic was part of my childhood. If you have not had the privelege or have no idea who he is go check out his website here He sings parodies of popular songs. Yes, not all of what he does is completely appropriate, but we sang his songs all the time growing up, we thought he was hilarious. Being the super cool person that I am, I have since shared his music with my rugrats. They LOVE him. Some favorites include "Jedi Knight" (parady of "America Pie"), "Ode to a Superhero" (parody of "Piano Man"), and Zach's latest fav: "Jurassic Park" (parody of "Macarthur Park"). So without further ado, here is Zach's version. To fully appreciate it I would suggest pausing my music at the bottom and also checking out the original video (which Zach has never seen due to the violence- even claymation violence is too much in my book). I admit that I am a total geek- but I love Weird Al, and especially watching my little bro, Garrett's redndition of "Amish Paradise" (parody of Gangsters paradise).

TFTSTT- my jabberbox

SO I almost forgot to post today. How typically Amberific would it be for me to not even make it to my second installment of Thankful for the Small Things Thursday? But I made it and today the small thing that I am thankful for is my conversations with Jared (and all my kids for that matter). Jared and I went to Havasu today to check out their summer movie program- still not sure if it is really worth the drive by the way but it was still fun. My little boy loves to talk. He literally talked to me the entire way home. He loves to tell stories (for example: ask him how he got the scar on his forehead and he will go into a detailed report of how the rhino at the zoo bit him! No, a rhino did not bite him, but his story makes you think it could have happened) and basically be in the middle of every conversation. Even when Kerry and I are talking about something he wants to contribute. At times, it can be a little tiring- but I love the fact that he wants to talk to me. Who knows how long that will last?! Before I know it He could be a surly teenager that wants nothing to do with me. Hopefully, that won't happen and to help combat that, I try to make myself available to talk to now while my kids want to talk to me. I love that Hannah and Zach get in the car after school and have tons to tell me about their days. I hope that it stays that way- so I have to remember to look for the moments, the times when we can talk, to lay the groundwork for later when talking to me might not come so naturally. BUT I am thankful that they want to talk now- and I will happily hear about scary rhinos, and spongebob jokes, and who did what on the playground- bring it on! This mom is all ears!

TFTSTT

So, i didn't realize that my last post was my 100 post! Pretty cool, also pretty indicative of how crazy my life has been lately. I was originally planning something cool for my 100 post- like 100 things you might not know about me, or 100 favorite movie quotes, or 100 places I want to see before I die. But oh well- i missed it!

That is actually not why I got on to blog today. I have been thinking a lot about my life lately and how blessed I am. I sometimes need to remind myself of all my blessings. Soooo my idea was to blog weekly about it. I even thought of a catchy name "Thankful Thursdays" but as I read other blogs I realized someone else (actually a lot of other somebodies) had already thought of that. So I thought some more and the things that I want to remember I am thankful for are mostly the small things that I take for granted. So I have come up with a somewhat longer title: "Thankful for the small things Thursdays" or "TFTSTT" hee hee catchy, isnt it? If someone else already has that- I am sorry I am totally not trying to rip anyone off.
So each Thursday (cross my fingers) I am going to post about a small thing in my life that I am thankful for. I will post a picture and tell why I am thankful for that particular thing. Join me if you want to. I think that it will be good for me to see all the good in my life.

Here is today's TFTSTT:
Lunch with Granny:

We are lucky enough to live in the same town as both sets of grandparents. Same street as my parents actually- and I am so thankful for the realtionships that my kids are able to make with their grandparents. This past year with the older kids in school, Jared has been the only one home and has been my buddy and companion. He actually likes running errands with me (most of the time)- and as a plus sometimes we get to go out to lunch. It is extra fun when Granny calls and asks us to lunch. Most of the time Jared wants to go to "Chill-weees" (that's chili's for those of you that don't speak 3-year-old). For whatever reason we went to Perkins this day and Jared and Granny decided to splurge and get pie. it was so cute to watch Jared experience his first piece of chocolate pie. He loved it!
Anyways, I am thankful for lunches with Granny. And I am pretty sure jared is too!

Heavenly Father's house

So we have been working on reverence in sacrament meeting. And Jared is having a little bit of trouble with the whole concept, but he is getting better. It has been a few weeks since he's had to be taken out in the hall.
Anyways, so we have been telling him that when we are in the church we are in Heavenly Father's house and we need to be reverent. I just wanted to share a couple of things that he has said and invite you into the innocent mind of a 3 year old.

A couple of weeks ago he was sitting on my lap as they passed the sacrament and whispered in my ear,
"Mom, this is Heavenly Father's house, so we have to be quiet." then after thinking a couple of seconds he says, "Mom, is this Heavenly Father's house?" I said, "yes it is." Then in all seriousness he asks, "Where are his stairs?"

Then last week again during sacrament he says, "Mom, Jesus sleeps in primary." I was a little confused and then I understood: If this is Heavenly Father's house, then obviously His Son, Jesus, would live here too, and you have to have a place to sleep in your house so his logic is that Primary is Jesus's room and therefore where He sleeps.
I happen to think that my son is wise beyond his years. For I truly believe that Primary is where Jesus would choose to be if he indeed did live at church. I am so thankful to have the children that I have and to be able to watch as their sweet testimonies grow.

so it has been quite a while since i have blogged. Life has been busy- and I seem to be in a perpetual bad mood! I have not been my cheerful self and my family and friends have suffered because of it. Sorry all! I talked to my doctor about it, and she says that it is almost definitely pregnancy related. My hormones are so much more out of whack with this one. But I have decided to look on the bright side- and try to focus on all the good things in my life.

Women's conference was such a good pick-me-up. I learned so much about becoming a better wife and mother, and about looking to my Savior for strength and learning to rely on Him. I had a great time with my mom and sisters- my camera's battery was dead, though so I don't have any pictures. It really inspired me to make my home and house of order and a sanctuary for my family. It is going to be a huge undertaking as right now we are pretty much just getting by- but I am starting to accept that the tone of the home is set by the mother, and that it is up to me- not anyone else- to make our home a place the spirit can reside.

I am so lucky to have the family and friends that I do. Life is good!