DC Trip

Mike and I have been planning our "10 Year" Anniversary trip (can't even believe it is almost here - the anniversary I mean) for a while and because of my fantastic mother who watched our little kidlets, we got to go! He had work to do there at the Federal Patent Office at the same time so I got to veg out - seriously. I woke up when I wanted, ate when I wanted, napped when I wanted, blogged when I wanted, and ate MORE when I wanted! I had forgotten how to do all that stuff. It was only our second time being there and we had so many sites to visit. One of our favorites was the DC Temple, we had to take the metro (Mike is a wiz on this subway - he is pretty used to it now since he visits DC quite abit) then catch a bus to get there. SO BEAUTIFUL.

We really enjoyed all the diverse people we got to meet as we traveled. A young man we met from Africa who currently just moved to DC from his family kindly helped us as we searched for the right bus to transfer too. As we visited he commented how "fast" we grow up in the states. Really made us stop and think "why?" do we do this to ourselves? Secondly was one of our taxi drivers. She was from Ethiopia and had won the Lottery Green Card with her two daughters who were in high school at the time. I asked her if they were scared to move so far and she said replied yes, but they knew it would be worth it. Another deep moment for us to think about how lucky we are to be here in Freedom and Liberty.

This brings me to our final experiences that affected us so much. In the last 24 hours of the trip we visited Thomas Jefferson's Memorial, Abraham Lincoln's Memorial, WWII Memorial and the Arlington Cemetery as we witnessed the changing of the guards. This is a must see for anyone going there. We learned the guards are so specifically trained for this honor requiring deep study of our country's patriotism and codes of complete silence for 3 weeks. They were absolutely perfect as they guarded the TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER. We left so affected by the thousands of thousands of grave sites spread through this sacred site.

Amazingly, as we stepped off the plane in Salt Lake, we were greeted by BACA Bikers holding flags, cameraman and a dozen soldiers in line. We waited for a moment to watch clearly the approaching soldier returning home. My eyes filled with tears as I heard a strong shout out and salute for this man as he came down the stairs with his wife and family, greeted by not only loved ones but many strangers just like us who were so grateful to be a part of such a wonderful moment.

Regardless if we all agree with our countries politics or not, none of us can deny the special blessing that is ours to live here in a place where thousands have suffered deep hardships beyond most of our minds abilities to imagine, even giving up their precious lives and leaving dear ones behind, so we can worship how, when, and where we may. This gift is all of ours to cherish every day and our trip to DC this week really helped us to better remember it.

A Week of Good Times!

This blogging thing has really got me going! Each day a new buddy pops up that I haven't heard from in a while and it just brightens my day. Thanks to all of you for posting a blurb so I "blog stalk" you right back! I am lovin it...
We had a great week full of all the good things in life: holiday smiles, BYU cheers (and tears), family time and watching the first snow fall of the year (a child's dream and a mommies tired "sigh" meaning she will once again take the snow clothes on and off again at least 500 times in the next few months - and still love it).

The first of many Halloween outings with the boys (Karly seems to have already outgrown the desire to wear a costume, or at least skipped it entirely).














All my boys intently watching the BYU game this week (sad sad day).














The boys love their cousins and got to see them at a baby blessing for cousin Nu'u.













The first snowfall of the season and we loved playing in it (especially now that we have grass instead of mudd).







Happy Trails Everyone!

Ode to mothers...

Isn't this a fun picture? These are just two of the many, many families who bless our lives. Thanks for dinner guys!

Recently I was visiting with a new friend outside my home whom I have admired as very "with it" - if that's even a word. Meaning she is so well put together, poised, head on her shoulders, confident mom, never stresses out and all the good things that you want to be as a mom. Of course in this exact moment one of my cute little kidlets decided to have a temper tantrum and wouldn't listen to me. You know the "please come here" and you get the "NOOOOO!" answer as they run away like they are going to be locked up in a dungeun? Well, as I am trying to handle this little meltdown with ease I am thinking to myself "oh what can she be thinking, this looks like I have no idea what I am doing here!" Now I need to make a note, that I truly wish I never worried about what other ladies think of me, but honestly - I do sometimes. Not because I need the praise and honor, but because I really try hard to teach my children correct principles and when they misbehave, I worry of the judgment that sometimes comes in those moments - usually from well meaning women who just do not fully understand the dynamics of that day. I am sure we have all been recipients of this at times as well as been the givers of the judgment. I know for myself I am not free from either one. So...as I finally finish my little "chat" session and my child leaves his "break" (that is what we call time-outs in our house), I walk over to her and to my surprise she praises me for handling that so well and wonders how I do it?! What!? Are you serious!? This leads into a huge discussion on parenting and we both shared things that we struggle with as we try our best to be great mothers. I was amazed that she had insecurities with motherhood just like I do, I would have never imagined. We closed the afternoon better women as we inspired each other to do better and encouraged each other with praise of the things we were doing well.
This left me in deep thought for the rest of the day, about how often it seems on the outside that so many of us are "perfect", and I know in reality none of us are, but in our own times of struggle with parenthood it seems easy to find those around us who are "with it" and see that we are not. I can not even say how many tears I have shed as a mother feeling I am not "with it." But this afternoon I had a wonderful reminder that all of us worry that we could be better. That we all need each other for support, ideas and encouragement. Some days we feel on top of the mountain and other days we are drowning in the sea. I am realizing more and more as my path crosses mothers every day that regardless of what it looks like on the outside, none of us are free from some sort of worry, stress, insecurity, hardship, shortcoming, or feeling of guilt. I also am learning that all of us as women TRY OUR BEST every day to overcome these obstacles. Some days OUR BEST has more energy than others, but it is still our best.
I am so grateful to know that I am not the only woman who has deep concerns about motherhood and making sure I am doing what the Lord has asked ME to do, in the best way that I can. I am also grateful to know that when my motherhood skills aren't the best on a certain day, that tomorrow is a new day. Wouldn't it be wonderful if each of us as women could release our sense of comparison and judgment, change our negative looks to smiles of encouragement and cheer each other on with our knowledge that we are all in this together? It is so much easier when we realize that truly we all need each other.

Those simple thoughts....

Today I am feeling so grateful for those "thoughts" that pop into our heads, so subtle and quiet; a quick idea, a note to remember something, an impression to act upon a thought we had, etc... So often they seem so simple that they aren't almost real. I have been trying lately to ACT on those impressions that I have, no matter how small. Sometimes they make a small difference in a person's day and sometimes they can change your life. Here are two examples:
A few days ago a friend called me needing an idea about something with her house. We chatted it over and I told her of a couple of friends who were better at that kind of thing than I was. Just as we were about to hang up a completely different buddy popped into my mind and I remembered that her sister was a professional on this exact subject. Quickly I shot her name out and my friend loved it. I made a few quick phone calls and that was that. Two days later I got a message on my cell phone from the sister of my friend, telling me how grateful she was for the referal and it came at a most needed moment. She new it was such a blessing for her. What if I had not acted? She would have survived I am sure, but the blessing of the referral would have been lost.
Secondly, and more closer to my heart, was something that happened with my little 3 year old a chunk of weeks ago. I was swimming at a buddy's house with my kids and my two littlest kidlets were in the small waiting pool with me. This connects to the big pool by a large step. As we played, I asked Joey to move his food away from the pool and then started to giggle with Karly. A few moments later a firm impression came to my mind, "WHERE'S JOEY." It wasn't loud or abrupt, just firm. I would have second guessed it because I knew he was right behind me putting his food away, but it came so out of the blue I immediately acted. I shot up to my feet to make a full scan of the pool - nothing. I looked all around me and then once again in the pool. To my absolute horror, I saw a little boy kicking his heart out at the bottom of the shallow end of the pool, only about 7 feet from where I was. His big brother heard my shout and reached over to grab him just as I jumped in to grab his body. I was completely in shock as I sat on the side and held my crying boy. My heart was so broken because how could I not see that?! I was facing the step the whole time, but he must have passed my glance as I laughed with Karly. Words can not express my gratitude to my Heavenly Father for knowing where my child was even when I didn't, and prompting my heart to move when I needed too.
So, those little thoughts, those soft impressions, they are something to listen too and lately I am learning that first hand. Now I only wonder how many of these promptings I have passed over, not knowing the outcome they could bring. Makes me want to get better at listening...

West Indies Service Project

We are enjoying our new service project with the West Indies Mission right now. President Robison, a dear mentor of Mike and I's, is serving there and we are really looking forward to helping the people of Guyana. They are working on forming the first 2 Stakes there, and with 11 countries in the mission, this is wonderful news. The link www.myersmission.com shows beautiful pictures of these humble people in their church houses, homes and where they are baptized - in the Atlantic Ocean! If anyone is interested in teaching their families about the people there or volunteering with our service project, just send us a note and we would love to have you involved! We are finishing up our flannel boards and clothes/toys donation by November 10th.

A Ballards Typical Saturday!

Football consumes our days right now and the boys just love it. This weekend was the first REALLY rainy day they had played so far, and turned out it was great luck! After an extra muddy day - they had a total of 5 touchdowns between the both of them...they had an absolute blast playing in it! Also, on any given day (but especially Saturdays) our little princess loves to make messes. She is the best climber we have had and at any given moment I can find her on top of the island pouring milk, licking up orange juice or turning on the faucet. On this peanut butter moment, I immediately remembered I had a blog I could post these funny pictures on and grabbed my camera instead of my temper! She loved it...The final picture is my favorite as she shouts out "CHEESE!"

Good Ole Buddies-

This month for some reason was a time of getting together with LONG TIME buddies. I am talking about those friendships 10 years or longer. One of these friends "Jay", who is Mikes High School buddy from Montana, was over last Sunday and called these 'low maintenance' friendships. The kind that you don't have to apologize over and over again for not seeing each other and just pick up right where you left off. I really love these kind. I wish in a perfect world that I could see each and every one who has touched our lives on a constant basis, but that just isn't reality. Our time becomes so consumed in the 'here and now' that keeping in touch has to be periodically spaced. For this reason, it is so exciting once you do get to see each other again. Another one of these was my long time friend and first college roommate Corey. We met in 1995 and she was the first of my friends to meet Mike in college. Yes, she has watched it all from the beginning! We loved soccer then, now we both play on adult "mommy" leagues, and she has 3 boys just like me (still waiting for her princess) and we can't believe between the both of us there were 7 kidlets running around. If I am counting right, there are now 13 kids between all my roommates from freshman year at Ricks. Total between all my roommies from all 4 years of college, there should be at least 29 babies now. Amazing how time fly's. Another old buddy from my Ricks days, Camille, tracked me down recently after a separation of contact for almost 10 years. Can you imagine the joy I had in opening her email after years of trying to find her? Also, the gratefulness for a friend who spent time trying to find me as well was such a gift that day. Finally, after attending a late session in the Temple this week, I ran into another dear friend whom I had known at Ricks, Katy. We had sent each other Holiday cards for years, but the opportunity to see each other face to face hadn't come in a very long time. Together we were beyond delighted to catch up and renew a very old friendship. I left the Temple that night completely lifted from seeing this friend. So after all of this recap, what is my point with these ramblings? That connecting with old dear buddies can bring a happiness to your day that will lift you for many weeks to come. And not only are you blessed as you track down old friends and let them know of your gratitude for the 'good old days'- it lifts them as well and both of you are left an happier person.