The Family Curse

A couple of weeks ago, one of my cousins contacted me and asked (among other things) for a recent family photo of my brood for a special book she was making for our Grandmother. I cringed when I read "family picture" because to date, we have never been able to muster a photograph together as a family. Usually, something like illness or a major break out or some other disfiguring thing happens. Dylan once cracked his head open just hours before we were to go ; another time, our car just plain wouldn't start.

I responded back to my cousin and said that we would send one. I pulled out the camera and my micro tripod and went to work. It's been so long that surely we could make it work right! First, we all had bright red cold noses. Then last Sunday Dylan apparently tripped over his own feet and slammed his face into the caster of the desk chair. He ended up with a bloody and slightly broken nose and a black eye.

Luckily Dylan is okay! It really freaked him out to see his own blood gushing out of his nose but once he got over the shock, he's been okay. He won't let me take a picture of him though because it's just too embarrassing to look like that in a picture. Sigh.

I decided to send a slightly outdated picture from 2003 (and you'll notice the finger smudge on the lens that makes even this picture fuzzy) which is the only time we were able to get a reasonably decent picture to happen.

This is our family curse, no pictures together! It's so frustrating and I hope that we'll be able to pull it off sometime soon!

Many Thanks

It's only appropriate that this week I extend my many thanks and gratitude.

Owen is on the top of my list. He's my Forever Family what can I say- I can't imagine a more handsome or calm fixture in my life. I'm so grateful that I was propelled by the Holy Ghost (and attraction) to marry him. What a great guy!

I'm grateful for Dylan. He's seriously a constant ray of sunshine that I love to be around all day (except of course when he's not being a CRF but a PITN).

I'm really grateful for my treadmill. Really! I love to be on it so much (especially at the gym with a high def flat screen playing HGTV super close to my face.) that sometimes I just want to stay on it forever. I guess it's because of the beloved endorphins that build up as I walk/run.

I'm so grateful for my sister Dinda. She's my on-call therapist and funnymaker- seriously such a hilarious woman! My bro's rock as well. I guess I'm the strait man in my family because all of my sibs are really, really funny.

My Mother and Father as well as my In-Law Mother and Father. I feel completely humbled by the immense sacrifices made by these wonderful folk. Life would be very different for me and my family without their love and support. It's the kind of gratitude that permeates my every day and propels me to do my absolute best as a wife and mother.

I'm grateful for being fortunate enough to have really awesome sisters'-in-law (Heidi and Sina if your keeping tabs :)). To me, they feel just like my flesh and blood. I'm also fortunate enough to have a Spencer in-law list of amazing individuals. I love all of you people who's name is on the family banner. How awesome are you!

How could any of us live without great friends? Friends you grew up with remind you of where you came from and keep you grounded. Friends you've gained along the way help you keep a sense of history, and the friends you hang with on a day to day basis is the spice of life!

I end my list with the thing that is the most important and central to me. I'm grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it's life changing and life saving impact on my life. It is a hallowed and sacred thing to me so I'm inclined to keep it at that. I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving. :)

A Note from Diet Island

Some of you may know that this month I've moved my consciousness to Diet Island in order to try to lose weight. What? You've never heard of diet island? Well, let me tell you about it! It's the place you send your thoughts whenever you eat anything. On diet island, there's only thoughts of luscious raw veggies, visions of yourself looking svelte in a swimming suit , and near romantic thoughts of your treadmill. One thing that all of us on diet island do is eat things that might not be our first choice. In example, today for lunch I had a vegan tofu "chickn" patty on whole wheat bread. It smelled divine while I baked it. The chihuahuas were intoxicated and begged mercilessly for a taste. (If any of you have ever encountered a tiny begging chihuahua you know that they simply can't be denied!) I threw them both a yummy taste and to my surprise, they both spit, it, out! I mean, the animals who have been known to eat unidentifiable molding items in the alley turned my lunch down flat. Then, to add insult to injury, Chimi took his bit and successfully smeared it down his back as he rolled in it! HA! I think that tonight for dinner I might take a trip to the mainland to eat something that a dog wouldn't roll in.

Prop 8 and things

I know this is a post that many would scope the title and leave. I know, we're all tired of this topic but my dear mother sent me an article that was beautifully written and contains a Christian message. That is to say, there is no criticism or blame just truth. Here's a link if you're interested: http://www.meridianmagazine.com/lineuponline/081117battle.html

Now on to the "things" part:
I want to thank those of you who read and responded to my last post. It really meant a lot to me to have such support and agreement. Sometimes I feel that I've been ministered to and that others have truly mourned with me., this was one of these times. With Dylan's adoption as well as this latest one, I feel very vulnerable because I really don't feel that I'm worthy of the immense blessing of being able to have children born to and sacrificed by others.

I don't know if you remember me speaking of her, but Dylan's birth mom is a stellar individual. It took me years to come to grips with the Lords will in Dylan's placement because I could see in her so many attributes and talents that were far above my own. Since then, I've come to realize and accept that we may not always (or ever for that matter) be able to understand God's will. It's just not a part of this world. We can however, accept it and find peace in bending our beliefs and will to match his.

I know that there is a little one that is meant to be in our family out there right now. There are some very sacred events that happened when Dylan's birthmom was pregnant with him that makes it impossible for me to believe anything else but that he was always meant to be my son. I've been experiencing the same thing in the past year with very similar experiences that helps me to know that despite the ridicule and disdain that I feel from my neighbors; and the freaked out ambivalence I feel from my friends at church, this is right and my son is on his way.

Okay that was totally tangential. Sorry. Next week I promise to write something happy and fun and light to read. Thanks for the love all!

Every Child Deserves a Loving Family

Yesterday afternoon our little neighbor boy friend came over to play with Dylan. Upon entering our house he asked excitedly "So did you buy your baby today?" Owen roared with laughter and I felt totally annoyed but also curious about the question. I said "No, we aren't buying a baby we're adopting one. There's a difference. Who told you that we were buying a baby anyway?" He said "My mom. She told me that people who can't have a baby buy one off of a bratty girl who went and got herself pregnant and doesn't want her baby."
Well. That's ONE definition adoption! I'm still reeling from this coarse description. I guess I'm just hyper sensitive about how we are obliged to have a family. It's been many years that we've evolved our own definition of adoption. The first was that adoption was a way that Heavenly Father looked out for his little ones who were coming to the earth by mistake. The second definition was that certain children were foreordained to be with certain parents and Heavenly Father in his infinite understanding provided a way for all of this to happen. The third definition is that all families are sacred. Every family unit deserves immense support from many people and government to be able to succeed. Perhaps all of these definitions are correct in various circumstances. I know that so far, all of them have applied to our own family. Right now I feel that we are unofficially parenting the little boy that I mentioned above and his older sister. They come to our house right after school and we provide snacks, protection, activities and occasionally, dinner. Why do we open our home up like this? Because we hate to have these beautiful children totally unattended while their mother is obliged to work for several more hours. It's something that all of us have done at one point or another to various degrees. It's just how we all take care of one another in a community. I guess you could say that we all "adopt" one another at various times because we feel each others need. I don't know, what do you think?

First Charity Project

Every year our ward has a service project where we spend the morning working at our local food bank. This year we decided to bring Dylan along. We projected a 50/50 chance of chaos. I couldn't have been more proud of Dylan than I was today. He rolled up his sleeves and got to work along with the "big boys" from the young men organization. About half way through, they called us in to the break room for a snack of donuts and milk which was the bawm for a 6 year old kid. Dylan was super impressed at how "cool" it was to work in a warehouse with all of the forklifts and large open spaces. Of course at the end there was a bit of a tantrum because Dylan didn't want to leave. Screaming and crying asside, it was a wonderful experience. I feel bad that I have underestimated Dylan's capacity for service up to this point. With little kids, I always expect the worst possible behavior in such situations. I guess I'm so use to the daily battle to get Dylan to clean his room or do anything resembling "work" that I thought that this was his static response to all work. I forget how pure and good children are when it comes to serving others. Dylan asked if we could come back and do it again to which I heartily replied yes! I'm really thankful for the opportunity our family had to work together for the good of others today. I guess now I'm going to have to get off of my duff and plan opportunities for service more frequently for our family.

The Food Bank

Today, dispite my injuries, we went to our Wards annual service project at our local food bank. This year we decided to attempt to take Dylan along. We are so proud of how grown up he was! The work was easy and he got a kick out of working with the "big boys" from the young men. At the end,

Happy Birthday My Owen!

November 5, 1974 at 12:16 a.m. in St. Louis Missouri, Owen Richard Spencer was born to Richard and Margaret. Owen was to be their 3rd child and first born son. He was a beautiful baby (see below) and a strong personality in the Spencer family. Throughout his life, Owen has carved out his own unique path and has always had a strong testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Owen has been a great blessing to friends due to his ability to accept and love others unconditionally. His example and love has helped his closest friends to return to full fellowship in the church (something that many would not have expected). Owen was a mighty missionary and a talented student as a young man. As a therapist, he has been a powerful and positive influence to those he has served in this capacity. For the past several years, Owen has been a stellar husband to me and a wonderful father to Dylan. I guess the message that I would send to you all today is that I'm eternally grateful for Owen's existence. I can't imagine life without him.

Happy Birthday Owen, we're so glad that you're here!

Owen at 1 month old.

Owen at around 8 months old.

3 year old Owen.

Halloween Pictures

Here's a smattering of the fun we had celebrating Halloween this week. Dylan and Owen were Ghostbusters and I went as a mom. I wanted to dress up but ran out of fizzle after getting everyone else ready.

Dylan (wearing the jack-o-lantern shirt from grandma) and Julianne playing super dog and super cat.

Dylan begging at the trunk-or-treat.

Noah ,Dylan and Amberlee at the trunk-or-treat.

Striking a pose pre-trick-or-treating with our neighbors, Noah and Amberlee.

Dylan and Owen outside the Science Spectrum as ghostbusters (Owen has been slimed!)

The pumpkins.



Closeup of Dylan's pumpkin. Dylan told me that his jack-o-lantern was going to be SO scary that my eyes were going to pop out then my head was going to pop off!

Close up of the witches cave.







P.S.

Here in Lubbock, gas prices dropped down to $1.96 a gallon! That's one good thing about this recession.