Is Someone Trying to Tell Me Something?

Apparently the powers that be feel like I might not be busy enough already. I am guessing this because I was just called to be our ward's Primary President. First let me say that I LOVE Primary! It is my favorite place to be on Sunday and I really enjoy seeing what Jackson and Kate are learning (a bonus is that they love me to be there too). Second, I thrive as a counselor and have always been grateful to be in those callings. I am thrilled to have someone give me assignments and I am all over it. That being said, I am definitely filled with fears of inadequacy as I think about how to fill my new role. I am counting on the Lord to help me rise to the ocassion because this can't be done by myself (or at least not very well) :).

Luck be a Lady...

I'm going to Vegas baby! - before my luck runs out. While I wouldn't consider myself an unlucky person, I wouldn't consider myself particularly lucky either. Until today that is...

Our friend, Stephanie, invited Kate, Ava and I to her table at a benefit event for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA). This fantastic production was held at the Georgia Aquarium and had an "Under the Sea' theme. We were level with tanks of beluga whales, sharks and the famous whale sharks. The girls were completely mesmerized. The committee truly outdid themselves with the preparations and we loved every minute of our time. Kate's favorite part was having her makeup done and "sparkles and jewels" put in her hair. All good things must come to an end though, and our afternoon came to a close as we watched a fashion show. This fantastic time was had for the purpose of raising money for CHOA (what a win-win, wouldn't you say?).

Well, since I am not a lucky person I usually steer clear of all raffles, lotteries and such. Today though, I bought several tickets because I felt like we were getting a free ride and I hadn't really contributed to the fundraising efforts. I bought 2 tickets for a trip to Aruba (really wanted that one), a Mommy/Daughter gift basket, a $500 Dillards card and at the last minute, I threw my last ticket in for a custom designed kids playhouse. So as I am sitting listening to them announce the winners, I about fell out of my seat when I heard that yours truly won the playhouse. That's right, me who has never won anything, just won a custom designed playhouse valued at $10,000. (Yeah, I am guessing that it has to have granite countertops, running water and AC to go for that much! We'll see.)

So if you're coming through Atlanta in the near future, we just got some more room for you!

The Spirit of the Marathon

I don't know if any of you have heard of this documentary, but I saw the encore performance last night in the theater and was wowed. This film highlighted 6 different individuals training for the Chicago marathon. They had vastly varied skill levels - from first timer, to 65 year old runner, to the 1st place hopeful- amazing Kenyan and bronze medal olympic winner Deena Kastor.
The producers and cinematographers did an amazing job of capturing the spirit of the event from the perspective of the novice to the true competitor. Maybe it's because I am so close from my 1st marathon but I was brought to tears several times during the movie. I really felt their pain, hopes, struggles and dream. It was very powerful...
If you've ever thought about running a race (any race) you should watch this movie when it comes out on DVD. It will inspire you to set a goal and meet it!

Did You See It?

Jackson and Kate made up PROMISE to wake them up at 10:01 so that we could all gaze upon the "red moon" (aka the lunar eclipse). This is a fairly rare event that won't be duplicated until the year 2010! We made good on our promise to the kids and woke them up in plenty of time for the viewing. Our family stood on our porch admiring the sight for several minutes until the magic of the moment passed and the cold set in. Then we headed back inside to wrestle the kids to sleep for the second time in one night. :)

I wonder if they'll remember this night in 2 years or when they are grown...

Go Anne!!!

This is one of my dearest friends, Anne. Let me tell you about this amazing woman (who broke my heart by moving to San Antonio this summer) - she is the mother of 4 beautiful children 9, 6, and almost 3 year old twins! She is the one I often speak of in my blogs. You know - her family flew to Disney to be with us for the marathon to cheer me on (I often feel like she is my own personal cheerleader and even therapist at times). She is much more amazing than she gives herself credit and is a true friend in every sense of the word.

Today she is running the Austin Half Marathon as a member of TNT and she raised over $4,000 for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She decided to run in honor of my Kate, who she shares a special bond with and I continue to be overwhelmed by her gesture. She'll be embarrassed by this post but I don't care! :) Anne, you are a rock star and I love you!!! My world is definitely better because you are in it...

Happy Valentine's Day

Today was a pretty awesome day in our house. Jason and I started the day early by waking up at 6:30 and making the kids a yummy strawberry pancake breakfast. The pancakes were pretty good but what they really liked was drinking juice out of the pink "fancy glasses". (I would have posted a picture of all of us but I forgot to take off my mascara the night before and it is scary!)

Kate and I then headed off for her chemo treatment and had a great time passing out all of the valentine treat bags that she'd made. I really love watching her enjoy the role as "giver" as she is so often the receiver of kindness.

The rest of the day was pretty much a blur between two Valentine's Day parties at school, swim lessons, dinner and cub scouts. Jason and I did manage to sit down together for a lovely meal of Chicken Arrabiatta after all of the kids went to bed and we enjoyed each other's company. I can't think of a better way to spend my day than surrounded Jason, Jackson, Kate and Ava.

In the spirit of all of those warm fuzzies, here are a few things happened today and made me think, "I love my family!"

1) Ava always says, "You okay Mommy?" whenever I cough or sneeze. Seeing as how I have a cold, she said it a lot today!

2) Jackson treats his sisters like they are princesses and I love it! He swooped in at the Valentine's Day party and helped Ava stop crying by sharing his treats. His is the best big brother.

3) Kate walked around the house just singing quietly to herself for nearly an hour tonight. She sounded just like an angel.

4) Jason woke up even earlier than I did to make me breakfast!

I am one lucky lady!

Famous Friends

When I was in the Primary Presidency our primary worked on "building" a temple - lego by lego. The children could put a lego on each Sunday they attended church and another one if they brought their scriptures too. We took a picture of the completed work at the end of the summer of 2006 and submitted it to the Friend.

Well, the photo just showed up in this February's edition and you can find our Brockett Primary on page 46 if you'd like. Jackson is front and center next to the temple, Kate is in the front row on the left and I am standing on the right holding Miss Ava.

The kids were pretty psyched to have their first publication! :)

Running for Kate - ALASKA STYLE

Yes, I know that I may be slightly insane but I have signed on to do another marathon with The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training! This race is in Ankorage, Alaska on June 21st, the day of the summer solstice. I am already looking forward to running in such a beautiful part of the country (the training, not so much but there's no avoiding that!). Kate has also been asked to be the team's honored team hero and is very excited for her role on our team.

For this race I have a bit of a different role in TNT and have been designated a mentor for other participants. This basically means that I have more responsibility AND will be once again raising money for the society. Those of you that weren't able to donate last time have another chance now and those of you that did already, well.......it's a new tax year! :)

Go Diego Go

Our entire family had the opportunity to go to see Go Diego Go LIVE at the Fox theater this week. The kids thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the interactive performance. There was audience participation, cool baby jaguars masks with accompanying growls and of course, dancing in the aisles.

These tickets were a gift from the Camp Sunshine House and included a "visit" (which was more like a quick photo op) with Dora and Diego. Ava tried to wiggle her way into several other families photos too and would have hung around the characters all night if she could of.