Wednesday, June 30, 2010

rocket attack

This morning Brent called (yay!!!). We were about three minutes into our conversation when I felt his attention waver.

"Brent? Are you listening to me?"

"Yeah. I'm just a little distracted because we're under a rocket attack, so now I'm on the floor."

"Does that happen often???" This was the first time (after 9 months) that I'd heard about these rocket attacks; he doesn't like to worry me.

Very calmly, he answered: "Yeah. Pretty much. We just have to get on the floor, and then I'll probably have to go pretty soon to report."

"Are you under the desk, at least?"

"No, I'm just on the floor."

Brent is SO the ying to my yang. I was actually much calmer than I'd normally be, since I was up so late last night (Lincoln decided he wanted to play at 1:30am).

Brent is calm.
I am hysterical.

He is mellow.
I am "high strung."

He goes with the flow.
I am a constant ball of stress and anxiety.

He is quiet.
I am LOUD (unfortunately, our kids take after me in that department).

Seven minutes later I was just beginning to explain the great pain I am in today (it's that time of the month, if you know what I mean). Brent's always great at being sensitive to my feelings and giving me the sympathy I'm looking for. I was waiting for him to say something like, "I'm sorry babe. You're so great to spend your day cleaning and packing." Instead I heard, "Well babe, that's the all clear - I've got to go report now. I lovelovelovelovelove you ."

Ten minutes of conversation was not enough for me, but at least I know that he's safe for now.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Eclipse



So.

I just saw Eclipse (the movie) and I have to say... it's so much better than I dared to hope.

Brent and I laughed through Twilight, and I sort of cringed through parts of New Moon (totally fake werewolves and a shirtless Edward).

But the latest installment of the Twilight Saga was, dare I say? Pretty darn good.

I think that the only time I really cringed was when (at least) 100 middle-aged housewives screamed because Jacob was shirtless. It happened a few times. That's what I get though, for going on opening night.

I don't know if there is another new director, but the acting, the timing, the cinematography... all much improved.

I'm actually looking forward to Breaking Dawn pt. 1. Anybody know when it's coming out?

tmi?


Tonight as I was changing Cooper's diaper,
he grabbed his you know what and said:

"Hi! I'm mister pee-pee!"

I couldn't help it. We all broke out in raucous laughter.

What kid doesn't love a laugh?

And so it continued:

Once his diaper was on, he grabbed his crotch and said,

"Hi! I'm mister diaper!"

Then, with his pajama pants on:

"Hi! I'm mister pants!"

And finally,

"Hi! I'm mister belly!"

"Goodnight mister belly."

busy days

Lately, I've been spending a lot of time getting ready for our big move (next week!!!). You know: packing, organizing, cleaning, setting up utilities, etc.

My cousin Rachel came to watch the kids for a couple of days last week, and it was heavenly. Besides being one of my favorite people and a ton of fun, Rachel LOVES my kids. Also, I was able to get a TON of work done without feeling guilty for neglecting the little ones.



Memorial Day 2010, photo taken by my fabulous cousin, Lolli


Today Brent's mom (Gram) watched the two boys while I took Mercedes to her last Utah Gymnastics class. Usually I just drop her off because sitting quietly does not happen for those two - EVER. It was so much fun to see the skills she has acquired on the beam, floor and bars. I noticed that she kept looking at me; checking to see if I was paying attention. Each time I would give her a big grin and she'd smile back.

Gram with Aunt Suzannie, Sept 2009. Aren't they a gorgeous pair?

This afternoon I was at our local gas station and overheard something FANTASTIC:

Behind the counter were a young woman and a young man. They were each aged somewhere between 16 and 22. The young woman is beautiful: tall, long and silky hair, huge smile. I heard her say to her co-worker who'd made a comment about looking cool: "It's more important to me to be nice than it is to be cool."

Now that's a girl who's got it all together and knows who she is.

Less than two weeks until our family is reunited!!!!!!!

Happy Tuesday!!!

Sunday, June 27, 2010

all done!!!


This man:


Is no longer the Bishop of his ward.

Do you know what this means?!!!!

No more meetings on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights.
No more being gone ALL day Sunday.
No more Lincoln screaming, "GRANDPA!!!" from our pew all through Sacrament Meeting!

Now that he doesn't have to use ALL of his vacation days for Scout Camp, Helaman's Camp, Youth Conference, Girls' Camp, etc., we will get to spend some FUN time with him!

This is a day of celebration at the Clark house.

After church Grandpa was presented with a loot of his "favorite things." He said, "what is this? Are you trying to fatten me up?"

His loot included:

Pringles
Black and Red Vines
Trail Mix
Brazil Nuts
Dried Fruit
Lots of "nutty" candy bars

In about an hour we're having a family dinner to celebrate. I made some Creamy Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas and Dad's fave: Coconut Cream Pie - YUMOLA!
The boys (and the lovely Annmarie, of course) will even be making an appearance.

I think that my mom might be the most excited one of us.

letters from Khandahar


Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
I am officially without responsibility now. I have no job and no calling in the church any longer here.

I was suprised today to learn that I was to be the primary speaker during sacrament meeting. I was under the impression that there would be three of us taking time to speak, but it turned out that one declined because he had spoken the previous week and the new branch president did not have much to say. That left me with about 20 minutes to fill with nothing but my testimony prepared. Fortunately, I have had lots to say since I became the Branch President in regards to getting through the deployment spiritually nourished. It was much like a King Benjamin address in that I covered many different topics that I wanted to make sure that they were clear on. I wanted them to know that I had a testimony of the gospel, of Jesus Christ, and His ability and desire to answer our individual prayers. It was quite the meeting. I sure enjoyed myself except for the fact that I have not figured out how to stop the flood gates from ever opening. SHEESH. If I could ever get through a talk without the streams of tears flowing down my face and nose that would be a MIRACLE. I do not know that I will ever get over that though. That is one prayer that I have not had answered yet. I guess it is one of those things that Heavenly Father just wants me to learn to accept and then perhaps it will go away.

I do feel fortunate for the testimony that I have though. Think of it. I just spoke in church for 20 minutes without a bit of prior preparation other than the daily scripture study and prayer. Heavenly Father makes it so this 33 y/o kid with no leadership experience could do what he was suppose to do. I definitely have learned from my experience out here about the gospel and the way that the spirit guides me personally. That is one of the priceless experiences that I will always be able to look back on. The great thing is that I wrote much of it down in my journal so that I have a record of what took place out here and many of the prayers that I have had answered.

Thank you for all of your support and prayers during the time that I have been away. As I have said before, I have actually felt your prayers on different occasions during my time out here. It is a remarkable experience to feel that half way around the world. Love you all.

-Brent

Saturday, June 26, 2010

world cup and other things

Last night my dad took Mercedes camping. She's wanted to go for so very long. (Her Dad's not much of a camper, and he's been in the middle east for almost a year). Poor Coop was left behind because he refuses to use a toilet. He loves his diapers.

Isn't it always difficult to sleep in a new place with new sounds? It is for me and it was for Mercedes. My Dad has a super-cool tent that attaches to the bed of his truck, so at least they didn't have to sleep in the dirt! But she was awake often. She told me that the river woke her up in the middle of the night and then some four-wheelers woke her this morning. Dad said that she made him check his watch at 4 am. That's my girl. She always has to know what time it is.

Neither of the campers returned this morning in the best of moods. Little sleep will do that, no? So in an effort to get the kids out of Dad's way while he was cleaning the floors (his Saturday morning ritual - along with going to Costco, of course), I took the kids to Target to play with the toys. And boy did we have fun!

We got popcorn and sodas and explored all of the toys, starting with BUZZ and WOODY and ending with BARBIES and LEAP YEAR. Then it was time for me to find some new makeup. I heard that navy eyeliner is "all the rage" this summer and wanted to try some. While I was intently examining the choices, I heard Mercedes screaming : "COOPER! You don't touch that!!! You don't put that on your LIPS! Cooper STOP!!!"

He'd successfully decorated his lips with lip (or maybe eye) liner, and his cheeks with dark brown eye shadow. It was lovely. He was really into it. He said, "I want to buy some makeup!" To which I replied, "Boys don't wear makeup." I realize now that that's not quite true these days, but it's the rule in our house (except for Halloween and dress-up, of course).

We came home to catch the last 60 minutes of a 90 minute plus 30 min overtime World Cup game. How awesome is the US Team?!
And they got soooo close. I wondered aloud to my sports fan brother, "why is soccer such a HUGE deal everywhere else, and most people in America don't care a bit about it. We're all about football here." Now, I understand football (a sport close to my heart), but I SOOOO do not understand all of the hoopla about baseball. Not to offend, but I find golf MUCH more interesting to watch. And Curling. I like to watch curling. And soccer - it's so fun to watch.

This is a blurry picture of my brother Chris, who I adore.
The kids adore him too.
He's the coolest uncle ever - he let them jump and climb all
over him during the World Cup game.


Tomorrow's a big day for my dad. I'm not suppossed to know about it, but my mom has a hard time keeping good (happy) secrets. I'm even worse. How painful is it to keep wonderful news all to yourself? Pure torture, I tell you. So I'm planning on making him a Coconut Cream Pie (and also a Chocolate for mom and kev who despise the coconut) and some creamy chicken enchiladas. Chris and Kev and Annmarie are coming and I'm so excited to be with my whole family. (Well, with exception of Brent, of course). It doesn't happen often enough.

And here's to two weeks until we can officially move into our very FIRST house!!!!!! Can I get a woot-woot and a yeee-haw?

Thursday, June 24, 2010

mawrawge...

This morning Coop came bounding up the stairs yelling:

"mom-meee! mom-mee!"

"When I get big I want to marry you like Daddy. So when I get big can I please marry you? Pleeease?"

This is the kid who tries my patience like nothing else in this world can. But he is just the CUTEST little boy on earth. My heart inflated and melted at the same time.

He was waiting for an answer, asking the same question over and over in true Coop fashion.

"Can I pleeease marry you mom-mee? Pleeeeease?"

It broke my heart a little to reply:

"I'm sorry Coop, but I'm already married to Daddy. You will find another wonderful girl to marry when you get big."

Rather than feeling heart-broken himself, he insisted:

"But I want to marry YOU. So when I get big I am going to marry you."

Wouldn't it be great if we were all a little bit more like three-year olds? They are confident that if they ask enough times, they'll get exactly what they want.