Free Books?!

So I found this cool website; www.dailylit.com, where you can read books for free - like Pride and Prejudice, The Count of Monte Cristo, etc. Newer books they charge for - but alot of the classics are free.

The Rollover

This is my current favorite Pilates exercise - and no the picture is not me. It's called the Advanced Rollover.

Instructions
Difficulty: Moderate
Step 1:Lie face up on your Pilates mat. Stretch your legs to the ceiling as if you are trying to touch it with your toes. Extend your arms diagonally while pressing them into the floor.
Step 2:Use your abdominal muscles to pull your tailbone up from the floor. Don't use momentum. This is an abdominal exercise and it will defeat the purpose of the movement. As you lift your tailbone up, your legs should continue over your head in to a plow position.
Step 3:Hold the plow position and try to touch your toes to the floor. Don't support yourself with your hands. Your abdominal muscles should be the only thing supporting you.
Step 4:Come down slowly from the plow in a controlled motion. Use your abdominal muscles to pull your feet away from your head once your hips touch down.
Step 5:Lower slowly until your legs are parallel with the floor or until your back begins to arch. Pull your hips back up to repeat the Rollover Pilates exercise 3 more times.

Big Girl

Mercedes said to me a little bit ago, "I'm ready for first grade now; want to know why?" So I asked why. "Because I lost a tooth!" Yes, today was the day. She's been asking me for days to pull out her tooth but I couldn't get myself to yank that little thing out of her precious mouth (plus I didn't want to face the wailing aftermath yet). But tonight she couldn't take it anymore, so used a napkin to keep it dry and it popped right out. I told her that my Dad would pull mine out with pliers and several times she's gone out to the tool box and come back in with pliers.

We had a discussion when she was 3 about how our baby teeth fall out and we get grownup teeth. A couple of days later I was pulling her behind me in the bike trailer and she said, "Mommy, when I get bigger, will my little legs fall off and I'll grow big grownup legs?" I tried not to laugh hysterically because she was asking in all seriousness, so I answered her seriously and then laughed to myself the entire way home.

My big girl is losing her baby teeth while my baby girl is getting hers.

I Love Your Smile

Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy. I LOVE YOUR SMILE
Thich Nhat Hanh

The Refiner's Fire

Sometimes I need to be reminded that life isn't meant to be easy, but there is a purpose for our trials. Shortly after I finished my chemo, I compiled my journal, put it into book format, and gave it to my family members for Christmas. At the beginning of each chapter I put a quote or scripture that had special meaning to me. Here's one of my favorites that I needed to read again:

The following story is a great example of how the Lord teaches and molds us through life's trials.
There was a group of women in a Bible study on the book of Malachi. As they were studying chapter three, they came across verse three which says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." (Malachi 3:3) This verse puzzled the women and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.
One of the women offered to find out about the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible study. That week this woman called up a silver smith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest in silver beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silver smith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot--then she thought again about the verse, that he sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.
She asked the silver smith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left even a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silver smith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"
He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy--when I see my image in it."
If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has His eye on you.

Author unknown

Baby Shoes and Rileyroos

So every now and then I become obsessed with finding the perfect item; whether it be a toy, a coat, a place to vacation, and I research it constantly until I find exactly what I want. The most recent item was a pair of cute baby shoes for Aspen. I wanted something easy for her to learn to walk in that would also protect her little feet - and I found Rileyroos. I bought them from a place in Baltimore called Bediboo.com and Scott happened to be in Baltimore the day after I bought them so I had him pick them up and save on shipping. They were on sale and I found a coupon for 15% off online (so check it out). I think Artichokes and Co. in Salt Lake sells them, but I don't know for sure.

I had to have the pink ones, but when Scott saw the little brown ones, he had to have those.

Aspen is 1!!!

My baby is 1, which is bittersweet for me. I love to see her learn and grow; saying b-bye and hi and testing her balance as her little legs shuffle along behind her walker. She gives hugs and kisses that just warm me from head to toe. She's also mastered what my sister-in-law refers to as "The Flygare Scowl". I have never seen a baby eat like she does. She's a little piggy! She probably eats twice as much as Mercedes does - but Mercedes also seems to survive on air.

But I miss the angelic innocence of the first months. I have thoroughly enjoyed every day with her. I honestly don't remember what happened with Mercedes from 10 - 14 months and I know it's not the same, but getting to enjoy Aspen during this age is so precious. I sharply and painfully remember when I came home from the hospital after shingles, PCP pneumonia and a collapsed lung and tried to pick up Mercedes; she was about 18 months, and she struggled to get out of my arms saying, "No; Mommy hurt, Mommy cry." I hadn't been able to hold her for so long without pain.

I love my girls, they are such a gift.