Safari Time and Flowers

We got to talk to Seth this morning. He got to be outside the house he is staying at. It looks nice! He is looking forward to going on a Safari until Saturday. 

The first rose bloomed on our rose bush today! I'm so excited!!! And I may have bought some petunias at Kroger to plant, because flowers make me so happy! And Seth, you can pat yourself on the back as if you bought me flowers! This is even better! Thank you! :)

12 more nights

I've been having a hard time sleeping without my dear Seth by my side. Despite exhaustion, I struggle to want to go to bed. 

12 more nights! We've made it half way! And if my love and appreciation for this man grows in those 11 days as they have in the past 11, I don't know how I will contain myself!

Seth hasn't taken a picture yet in Africa, (that's normally my job) but I'm hoping he will! Thankfully others have taken some that he can download. Like these below. (He's so handsome and wonderful!! I'm very proud of him)

Hopeful Thursday

This picture of me and Seth was taken at my grandma Shepard's house years ago, although I am not sure how many years. Maybe three or four. I sure love this man. And I hope that he is having a wonderful life changing experience helping people in a very rural village of Kenya. I am excited to hear from him on Sunday, and know that he's safe.

I feel very hopeful today. God is blessing me with a renewed assurance and perspective. I felt like I mothered John very well, and we weathered any possible bumps in the day with composure.

I am very proud of John. I made a delicious vegan Caesar dressing from Oh She Glows cookbook, and put it on a delicious green salad with kale, lettuce, zucchini, carrots, and tomatoes. He ate his whole bowl-full, asked for seconds and ate that too!

Then we had a very pleasant family home evening, singing songs, saying the Pledge of Allegiance, praying, learning about Ruth in the Bible, and having a delicious banana muffin treat. I felt proud to be a mother today, and remembered that I have a very crucial job, and God is helping me.

Happy Mother's Day 2015

I am exceedingly thankful to be the mother of this wonderful child. John is a great blessing to us!

We got to talk to Seth for 10 wonderful minutes. He looks happy and safe. And it seems like he is learning a lot. I'm very glad that he got to go to church today, and that it is so close by. It is truly a miracle that The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints is pretty much everywhere in the world.

After church, we got to go to Reynoldsburg, Ohio, to visit my paternal grandma, Phyllis Paver Shepard. She was very glad to see us, and John really put a smile on her face. He was very sweet, and gave kisses, and said Happy Mother's Day!

At grandma's we also got to see some of our very favorite people, my aunt Laura (in red), and my aunt Candi (in black). John absolutely adores them, and the feeling is mutual. John was really excited about that pink flamingo. He carried it around almost the whole time. We got to see the video of aunt Laura skydiving yesterday. She is a daredevil!

I am thankful for the wonderful women in my life. There are too many to number. Our mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, sisters-in-law, cousins, friends, mentors, teachers. We are so blessed.

John is having a really hard time with Papa being gone. He does wonderfully when we go out, he was a little angel at church, and cuddled, and folded his arms, and played quietly the whole time. But when we get home, John struggles, he asks when Papas coming home, and it is like he knows that something's missing, and it is. It is lonely here without Seth. We sure miss him! 

Although there are many two-year-old tantrums when we are at home, I know that John loves me. I love him so much. When I called my mom, John told her, "I have mama!" So sweet. 

We are going to pretend like it is Mother's Day after Papa comes home. :-)

Safe in Nairobi

We got to talk to Seth today. He is safe in Nairobi, he and his colleagues are staying in a house in a gated community. All of their meals are prepared for them, and he said the food is good. He doesn't have to make any food, or do any dishes. The luxury!

They even have three bathrooms. One for the four women, one for the eight men, and one bathroom on the main floor for everyone.

They went to a small village today, and they got to experience what it is like to haul water for a mile, up the hill back to the village. He said it was really tough. I can only imagine. So when I turn on the faucet, my dishwasher, the shower, and flush the toilet, I am really going to try to remember to be grateful.

He forgot to take his hat, and didn't wear any sunscreen. So he got burnt. I am hoping he will start using those resources :-)

Seth is excited to be able to attend church tomorrow. There is an LDS church just 3 miles away from where he is.

He's On His Way!

We're missing Papa already. John keeps asking me, "where's Papa?" "Is Papa coming?" "I want to see Papa." So do I. 

We took this picture right before we dropped him off at the Columbus Airport today. He is on his way to Nairobi, Kenya! He's going to help with a project that helps people carry and store water more easily and sanitarily. The trip and project have been organized by the OSU MBA school. Even though we will sure miss him for 3 weeks, It is such a great opportunity for Seth! We're excited for him! :)

Year One Down!

We did it! We finished the first year of MBA school :-) and I have no qualms about saying we, Seth would be the first to tell you that this has been a family effort.

God has blessed us so abundantly throughout this whole year. We have all learned so much, and grown a lot. We have made wonderful friends here, and had so many excellent opportunities!

Seth has done very well in school! He has worked so hard. We are very proud of him. He is an exemplary husband and father. Although, he is one of the only ones in his MBA class that is a husband and a father, he has been there for us.

He is been there for family dinner, scripture study, bedtime, family home evening, date night. We are so grateful for him. Great job Seth!!

We're On Our Way to Morristown!

We found a place to live in Morristown, New Jersey! It costs and arm and a leg to live there, but I talked with an LDS realtor in the area, and she said it is unheard of to find a 3 month lease anywhere for less than $4,000/month, and we found one for $2,000. I am very relieved. Now I am trying to iron out the details, and make all the payments for security deposits and fees. We have to pay $3650 in deposits and fees just to get the key....

But it's in the prime location - 3 miles from Seth's work! So we won't have to buy a second car. He can bike. We won't even have to put our bed in the living room, although we wanted to - to save some money. In New Jersey, if you're a family of 3, you can't rent a 1 bedroom - it's illegal... what's with that? And If you have twin babies of different genders, and you are renting an apartment, it is illegal for them to share a room, even though they're babies! Ok, I'm off my rant. It is what it is, and we have a place to stay, and it looks way nice! So if it's all we could get, I am glad that it is nice, and that we are paying for something good, not something gross or unsafe.

And our apt. is right next to a park with a big playground! There are 2 museums, a bus station, and a train station (that takes you right to Manhattan) within walking distance (even for me! which is saying something...) There are parks dotting the neighborhood. Downtown Morristown is very close by as well, and it looks so quaint with all these little restaurants and shops and flowers. And there is a cemetery about a mile away! I love cemeteries because they are beautiful and full of history! And because I am a geneologist, and I'm just into finding my ancestors, and other people's too. And LA Fitness, my gym is only 11 min away, so I can still swim often, and Seth's gym 3 miles away from our apartment. It's really a great location! --- Can you tell I'm excited for the summer!? It will be great! I'm most excited to see more of Seth in the evenings because he won't have homework for the summer :)

My Little Jacob Marley

John fell down and scraped his chin today. Thankfully it wasn't bad, but it was enough to merit a Band-Aid.John went around the house the wailing quite a bit, even though he wasn't hurt anymore. It was all for show. Perhaps he has duped me, and he has already read "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens, and he was just pretending to be Jacob Marley. A very convincing performance! He probably just missed his papa, who has night class tonight. He kept asking, "Papa's coming home?"

I sure am proud of this little boy! He went potty at the gym, even while I was in the pool, he just told the workers at the kids club that he needed to go, and he also stayed dry at his friends house today, and he used the potty the entire day, telling me each time he needed to go so, tonight we are going to see what happens if he wears underpants at nighttime. I did put two pairs on him, and one is a very thick padded kind. But I think if I pay close enough attention when he wakes up in the morning, he will probably stay completely dry!

BASF, Seth's Summer Internship in New Jersey

 Well, we finally know where we are going for the summer! We will be in Florham Park, New Jersey. It is the little red section next to Morristown in the map. Seth got an internship with BASF in their leadership development program. He worked so hard applying, networking, interviewing, etc. for internships! It really paid off. This is a wonderful opportunity for us, and we are so grateful. Now we have to find a place to live for the summer! It will be really fun to be in New Jersey, 30 miles from Manhattan. It is very expensive there though (probably $2,000 a month for a 1 bedroom apartment), so we'll probably end up staying in a one bedroom apartment, and putting our bed in the living room, and John in the bedroom! :-)

                    www.basf.com

BASF is the largest chemical company in the world. It is headquartered in Germany, and it's US headquarters are in New Jersey.

More info about BASF here:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/BASF

On to exciting adventures! New Jersey, here we come!

Laughter Helps to Heal My Soul

John couldn't ask for a better father. With Linda K. Burton, I "honor husbands, fathers, brothers, sons, and uncles who know who they are and who are doing their best to fulfill their God-given roles as described in the family proclamation, including righteously presiding and providing for and protecting their families." She continues, "It must be difficult, at best, for covenant men to live in a world that not only demeans their divine roles and responsibilities but also sends false messages about what it means to be a “real man.” One false message is “It’s all about me.” On the other end of the scale is the degrading and mocking message that husbands and fathers are no longer needed. I plead with you not to listen to Satan’s lies! He has forfeited that sacred privilege of ever becoming a husband or father. Because he is jealous of those who have the sacred roles he will never fill, he is intent on making “all men … miserable like unto himself”!^8"Brothers and sisters, we need each other! As covenant-keeping women and men, we need to lift each other and help each other become the people the Lord would have us become. And we need to work together to lift the rising generation and help them reach their divine potential as heirs of eternal life. We could do as Elder Robert D. Hales and his wife, Mary, have done and follow the proverb “Thee lift me and I’ll lift thee, and we’ll ascend together.”^9" ("We'll Ascend together", General Conference Apr. 2015). Her talk truly helps me to want to be more kind and gentle to Seth, to speak more words of appreciation and encouragement to him, and to remember more often how blessed I am.Click on the link above to learn more about how important and wonderful righteous men in our lives are.

Seth is such a great papa! John loves playing with him. It is so great when daddy is home! Fathers are so important. I love to hear when Seth makes John laugh. This is a truly beautiful sound :) It feels me with wonder, peace and joy.

And, if you were wondering why John has no pants on, it's because he's wearing big boy underpants with airplanes on them. Skipper from "Planes" to be exact. And he's stayed dry all day. It was a much better day today! Things are looking up!

---

I taught a family history class today at a women's conference for my church.  www.familysearch.org is an amazing free resource that helps people find records and documents and information about their family, and you can also now upload photos, stories, documents, even audio of their voices, to preserve family memories. I love finding out more about my heritage, and it is so exciting to see people light up as they learn more about where their grandparents came from and their great-grandparents, etc. Please let me know if you are interested in learning more!

And please bless Mama

Today started very rough. We have been potty training John, and the first couple days went great! And then everything fell apart. This morning, after four accidents in a row, and spending half the morning sitting in the bathroom with John (he would wait to be in his underpants 10 min. after I took him off the potty...) I was at my wits end, and in tears. I am grateful for my loving heavenly father who is patient with me even when I lost all patience.

I called my friend Kyla, and even though she was at the zoo, she took a few minutes to help me calm down, give some empathy and just listen.

Then, my sweet husband acknowledged what a hard day I was having, and did me a favor, by finding out that we will be spending the summer in Florham Park New Jersey. (so we can finally try to find an apartment!)

I was giving John a snack before nap time, and as I helped him say the prayer, I prompted him to say "Please bless Abuela" (who was on an airplane, we  miss her so much already!) and John , of his own accord said "and please bless Mama...and Papa." 

I started crying again, happy tears this time. It was like a light, a bean of sunshine bursting through the clouds. It was a sweet moment, God's answer to my prayer to be patient with John and to just love him.

After snack, we snuggled up to read a book, and John almost fell asleep in my arms. He was so tired! I decided not to give up, I would try again after naptime. Amazingly enough, after naptime, he didn't have a single accident for the rest of the day. And went potty four times. He was much better behaved in the afternoon, and so was I. My sweet husband came home, and really held to lighten the mood, and help us get back on track.

We will not give up!

Go Duke!!

Seth's a huge Duke Basketball fan, and so am I because he is, and I like Coach K. We really enjoyed watching them win the championship tonight! (Although we like Wisconsin too, and they sure worked hard. I hate how the camera men follow the defeated team at the end to capture their tears. Huge wins always come with huge losses for someone. That's why basketball often makes me feel sad. Second place isn't celebrated) but if it's anyone, we're very happy it's Duke! I like having activities to do with Seth that we both like. I'd have to say that he's gotten me into football and basketball, surprisingly enough :)

Easter and General conference weekend 2015

It is hard to believe that Easter and General conference weekend are already over! We had such a nice visit with my parents. My mom and dad drove out for the weekend. Unfortunately they hit a pothole on their way here in the pitch black of the night in Indiana. I know the Lord was watching out for them. Although their tire busted, they were safe, and godsend very nice construction worker who is on his way home. to help them change their tire, his name was Tim. He refused any payment, and said that he would hope someone would stop and help if his parents were in need.

John absolutely adores his grandparents. And they adore him. They had so much fun playing and reading books, and snuggling.

John has filled out his first sticker chart for going potty. He has been using the potty consistently for a very long time, but we are preparing to try to have him start using the potty all the time soon, so we started doing the sticker chart, and he really likes it. I have decided against doing treats when he goes potty, but, we are doing stickers, and it seems to be a good reward that he looks forward to. And then I thought it would be good to have a prize or something fun for him to play with when he fills out each sticker chart. Someone was giving away a dragon costume, and John recently saw the movie "How to Train Your Dragon," and he loves it, and subsequently he really likes dragons right now. It took him a little while to warm up to it, but he loved wearing the dragon costume, and my mom was wearing drapey poncho, and John thought that looked kind of like Dragon wings, so if they pretended to fire around the house together. It was so fun.

  John loved eating with my parents, here is John and grandpa eating a yummy bowl of ice cream made with just strawberries, bananas and a little almond milk.

My mom and I went outside with John to our patio, to drive with sidewalk chalk on our patio walls. And John really enjoyed that, but maybe not as much as my mom and I did. :-) I tried to draw the temple, and John knew what it was, so it must have been recognizable. My mom said it was like a Monet. She's a little biased though since I'm her daughter. 

We enjoyed a delicious Easter dinner together on Saturday, and on Sunday, we had a nice breakfast together, and talks about Jesus and told John the Easter story. My parents got him a really nice board book that tells the Easter story into your old language, and we looked at lots of pictures of Jesus. John seem to understand that Easter is about Jesus. And he went around all day saying happy Easter!

We also had a blast doing a little Easter egg hunt with John. He carried his basket around the living room, and picked up the eggs and put them in his basket. We filled them with little toys and balloons to be blown up, and some dairy free chocolate chips and pretzels. He thought it was the coolest. And my parents got done some really fun toys that he loved. Especially a ninja turtle top that he loves to spin.

During our visit, my dad said that as far as men and husbands go, the bar really isn't that high these days, and Seth is way above the bar and even to the moon. He told me I couldn't have done better, and I absolutely agree with him. Both of my parents said that Seth was a wonderful husband and father, and thank him for taking care of me. I am so grateful that my parents respect him and know what a good man he is.

My mom loves the food that I cook almost all the time, and I really appreciate that. And my dad and I had a really nice conversation about nutrition and health issues, and I am really glad that we can talk about a subject that is so important to me, and share ideas and thoughts. My dad asked me some questions about wheatgrass, and why I do the things that I do. And I truly appreciated him listening to me and my story. It is okay that we have some different ideas, we can still discuss them together, and learn from each other, and support one another. I love my parents very much, and I am grateful for them. We are so blessed.

    

It was excellent watching general conference this weekend. If you missed it, or if you watched it and want to watch it again or listen to it or read it, just go to LDS.org/generalconference 

There were so many talks that were direct answers to my prayers, and many that I truly needed that have been concerns of mine, and that maybe I haven't even prayed about yet. God knows us perfectly. He knows what we need and he has restored his true gospel to the earth again, and there are living prophets and apostles to teach us his will and to guide us through this difficult world. I am so grateful to know that and I'm very thankful that I can teach that to our children. John is doing so well learning the gospel.

He has memorized the names of all of the apostles and the prophet. he knows them all by their faces, and he identified all of them the moment they came to the podium. I am one proud mama.

What a guy!

Notes like this make my day! I am so blessed!!

things are really falling into place

I am feeling so grateful today! Church was wonderful! I am so thankful that I can be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and I can go every Sunday to church and worship freely. I am thankful to live in a country where we have freedom to worship.

And what a great support group we have a church! It is really miraculous how many wonderful people we know and who are willing to help us in our lives, and be are friends! I am just feeling so much gratitude.

In relief society, our women's organization, I was asked to share an experience that I had last year, and how I have been able to learn and grow since then. It was a great blessing to be able to reflect on how far i've come and how well I am doing. I hope to share more about that this week.

We took a very nice nap this afternoon, and then have a great dinner as a family. It is such a blessing to be able to eat together every day. 

We also enjoyed family home evening together. John loved playing some instruments as we sang, and we taught him a lesson about learning. We also started incorporating the pledge in our family home evening's. John loved to see the flag!

After John was in bed, Seth and I were able to spend some quality time together, and also do some planning. We planned out our whole week and looked at the next couple months. Things are very busy, but under control. I'm thankful that we are learning how to do this kind of life, being in graduate school. it's working for us now.

We also had our budget committee meeting. It was very successful, and we even found out that we have a couple more hundred dollars than we anticipated, and we will be just fine this month and throughout the semester as we stick to our budget. I know God is blessing us so abundantly! He cares about the details of our lives. I know that he honors his promises to us, and that as we keep his commandments he blesses us.

Although my workload and home has significantly increased since Seth has so much work to do at school and interviewing, I really feel like I am able to do it. I was even able to plan out our meals for the entire month this week! I feel so much less anxious because I know what to make for dinner! And I can switch out the days depending on how busy we are, but I know that I will have plenty of options of dinners that I can make in my fridge as I follow my plan. What a blessing! 

Family Swimming Outing

After a very long week of many internship interviews (great job Seth!! You did it!), we took a family break and went to the OSU pool. 

John had a blast! He loved the waterfall and the slide. It was adorable when he would look over and wave at me :) 

John went under once, not on purpose. But he took it like a champ! He was having so much fun, but he was freezing, blue lips, shaking, so we had to take him out. We'll have to do this more often!

Fun in the kitchen

John helped me taste, I mean make, some delicious chocolate zucchini muffins as a surprise for Papa for all his hard work with networking, applying and interviewing for internships. Last one tomorrow! Prayers are appreciated ;) we know all his hard work will pay off and God is blessing us abundantly!

These were a huge hit! Thanks Oh She Glows Cookbook! And I was excited to make them because our oven got fixed today! I appreciate that oven more now!

Happy 32nd Birthday Seth!

There are too many things to list that I love about Seth! Here are just a couple. Seth is such a gentle and loving husband. He is humble and forgiving, he is supportive and comforting. He is so wise. Seth is an excellent father. He shares all of the parenting responsibilities equally, and he helps John have so much fun! He is a very hard worker and he does so much to care for our family. I love how supportive Seth is about healthy eating, and he is willing to eat everything I make! It is wonderful that he is also interested in learning about nutrition and keeping our family healthy. He has been such a strength to me through very hard times. I could never have chosen a better companion. I love you Seth!

Happy birthday!

Since Seth's birthday fell on a Sunday, we went to church of course! We really enjoyed all the meetings, and learned about charity, the pure love of Christ. Seth is one of the best examples of this attribute that I know.

We have had fun catching up with family on the phone and on Skype today, and just being together as a family.

Seth requested a couple dishes to est on his birthday and wanted to be surprised for the rest. 

I worked on making a really yummy 3 course dinner, all from scratch.

Caesar salad, with homemade croutons and homemade vegan Caesar dressing

Crispy home baked fries (seth's favorite food)

Empowered noodle bowl with Thai peanut sauce

And homemade whole wheat cinnamon rolls topped off the night of deliciousness. 

Unfortunately, I didn't think of the fact that the candles would melt if I put them right in the cinnamon rolls when they came out of the oven :-) so I just held seth's birthday candle, and we sang to Seth. John even helped sing, he really loves the happy birthday song. And Seth let John help him blow out the candle. John was overjoyed, and he probably would have eaten two cinnamon rolls if we would have let him.

Seth loved all the food, so it was a success!

Seth got new dress pants, and some dumb bell grips to use when he works out at the gym, and there will certainly be more birthday celebration to come!

I love my little boy and miss my hubby