Thoughts on Maddie...

Little Maddie, my baby angel. As her 4 year birthday comes, I wanted to share some thoughts about who she is, and why she is a special part of our family.

For one, she's all girl. Maddie is such a little mommy. She babies her dolls with great care and attention, pushing them in little strollers, tucking them in and calling them her sweeties. She is kind and gentle, mature for her age.

I think "tender-hearted" is one way of thinking of her. Last week when Melanie's haircut appointment fell through and she called very distressed, I told the girls to be nice to Mom when she got home. Maddie said "I'll tell her that her hair is beautiful the way it is".

All of a sudden she is really interested in learning her letters and numbers. She is doing what Abby did, writing notes and leaving them for me on my bedstand and handing them to me as I walk in the door. When we read together, the three of us, she insists on reading pages with Abby and I. Although she cannot read the words, she can see the pictures and she makes up great little stories with confidence.

She's our little storyteller. Her imagination is quit full and rich. She will write funny letters to us, and then read them to us. She also has funny stories. If I said "I saw a deer today" she will say, "I saw a deer, and he was wearing little pants and dancing." Maddie really knows how to riff off of our stories, make them hers, and add some "oomph" to them. Totally funny.

She loves to play dolls, barbies, and polly pockets. She has very intricate stories that she builds around them. She's also got a very clear idea how she wants to play, directing us what we should do or say. That can get frustrating for Abby and I when we play with her, but you cannot fault her for knowing what she wants.

She crys a lot. We forget that she is still little, but it still doesnt change the fact that she's a cryer. Take her to primary, she crys. Pick her up from primary, she crys. She crys several times a day.

She's very religious and spiritual. She insists on praying every night, and says wonderful prayers that go like this:

"Heavenly Father, thank you for this day, help us to be healthy and happy, help us to always love each other, help us to be healthy (she repeats this a couple of times), in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

When she gets to pick the song, she choose"A Child's Prayer", one of my favorites. We all sing it together, and it's a piece of heaven for me.

Madsie loves Abby so much, and asks her to sleep with her every night. They talk cutely most of the time, laughing and giggling, and it reminds me of when I was a kid sleeping with my brothers. Sometimes Maddie will do annoying little things like lick her, which drives Abby crazy and sends her off to her own room. But most of the time they fall fast asleep in their bed together, two peaceful little sisters. When we look in on them, they are both spread out and happy as can be.

She has lots of wonderful friends at school. She talks of Jonathon, Nicolaus, Nickolai, Preston, Will, and others. She has a great little school and loves, and is loved by them.

I love my girls so much. Abby and Maddie are truly some of the "noble and great ones", reserved for a challenging time. Rearing them, guiding them is a tough responsibility and one that I try to take seriously. Fortunately, I have such sweeties to guide through this life.

I'm so glad when Daddy comes home...

One of my favorite times of the day is coming home from work. Every time I do, the girls rush me with open arms and big hugs. Screams of "Daddy" echo through the house and lots of yipping and craziness. I'm sure someday they won't be as excited when I walk in the door. But today they love it, and so do I!

Hello, 2010

2009 was a challenging year for most people, our family included. But at the start of 2010, I'm hopeful, especially when I think about where we were a year ago.

A year ago we were moving into the temporary rental house, closing the door on our Kaysville home for good and leaving behind Maija and our life in Utah. It was a challenging, difficult, dark time. We were all low and depressed. I don't know if I'll ever forget sitting in our living room in Kaysville and the four of us crying because we were leaving. The future was unknown and bleak.

Fast forward one year later and things are looking up. The house is a huge part of that - we never ever thought that we would be in a home or neighborhood this nice. We were truly blessed to find and buy this home. My work has improved as well. I understand what I'm doing a little better, and know better how to navigate MS. It's a long-road, but one that I do not regret taking.

As one year ends, and another begins, it makes me think about time. Such a funny thing, time is. A year ago I honestly believed the world for our family was ending. I had no hope. But one year later, things have settled and are better. God has been at work in our lives, and truly orchaestrated this year for us. He plucked us out of our Utah life, but as He did so we prayed that we would find happiness here. I believe He has made that possible for us.

The timing seemed horrible then, but in fact was as perfect as it could have been. There's no way that I would have been hired on at MS now. Since I joined thousands of MSofties have been laid off, recruiting and hiring is down, etc. Plus, they are paying less to new hires, have become more selective about who they hire, and are paying fewer relo benefits. As an outsider, I don't believe I would have had another chance at MS had that job not turned up.

Also, between the time I was hired and now housing here has dropped significantly, which has been a boon for us. Our friends who moved here a year or two before us bought much smaller homes, with fewer niceties, for a lot more money. Had we moved earlier than we did, we would have been spanked. But the timing really worked out for us. We even made money on our Kaysville house - something that is itself a miracle.

It's a good lesson, and one that I think I'm learning slowly. This idea of patience, trusting God's timeframe, trying to have a big picture view.

There are still macro worries - the economy, terrorism, wars, plagues - but fortunately, my family is not personally impacted on a daily basis by these (knock on wood). We hear about them, worry for those involved, and pray for those innocents...but that is not our day to day life. Thankfully.

For me, that's the point. There's much to be thankful for, and I hope that this year I can be less worried about the future and more thankful for today.