March and April pictures

We got to go to some friends house for Easter. They had 50 people there from the branch. The food was incredible and it was a lot a fun. We really missed being close to family and this felt like going to a family party for us. We really appreciated it. We have been really blessed to have wonderful people around us here in Michigan.
We house sat for some friends of ours and had a wonderful time. They have animals that Abigail really enjoyed talking care of. On April 5th we were surprised to wake up to 7 inches of snow! What was crazy was that the Friday before that we were outside riding on Abby's tricycle in 68 degree weather. The snow was really pretty though. It felt like Christmas.








Grandma and Grandpa Forsyth sent Abigail an Easter dress that she loves! She calls it her Cinderella princess dress. She wore it on Easter and got a lot of compliments. People would say something like, "Oh, Abigail your dress is so pretty." She would smile, flutter her eyes and do a little spin, then tell them it was her princess dress from Grandma and Grandpa and that they have a park and a dog named Jack. It was cute.










Abigail helps me a lot with cooking. Her specialty is enchiladas.





Abby had fun at a friends princess birthday party.

There were some free days at the Lansing Zoo we took advantage of. We had a great time.

Burgers for Buns

I made a new year's resolution to have no candy and no desserts for a year and so far I'm doing great! Normally I wouldn't recommend anyone doing this because it seems a bit extreme, but for me I was literally eating only chocolate some days. There have been a couple days where I have craved m&m's and I can't deny the overpowering sensations I have when I smell warm brownies, but these have been relatively minor inconveniences and I'm still pretty happy with my resolution. There have been, however, several unforeseen consequences.

First of all, the month of January saw a HUGE increase in my breakfast cereal consumption. Right before the new year I bought some Lucky Charms because they were on sale and that box was gone so fast. I usually like cereal brands like Wheaties and Life, but they were no match for the marshmallowy goodness of Lucky Charms for a while. I'm back to my Wheaties and Life, but it was an eye opener to me how much I was just craving anything sugary above and beyond chocolate.

You would think that by now I'd be looking like Conan here with such a reduction in my sugar intake and I did loose a little weight at first, but what I can't have in sugar I seem to compensate in two ways. First, it feels like I eat a lot more per day and second, the foods I now eat are much fattier. So I actually haven't lost any weight besides just a couple of pounds. It's nice to know I haven't put on any weight but now I've discovered a third problem...

I was looking over my bank and credit card statements and in the last three months I have gone to get a dollar menu hamburger from either McDonalds, Wendy's or Burger King 48 times!!! This is nearly 5 times my past consumption from last year! Now I realize that some people get fast food far more often and order fries and a soda along with it, but for me, this is too much! So I've come up with a plan. I call it burgers for buns.

I looked up how many calories are in a Wendy's Double Stack, McDonald's McChicken, or Burger King Jr. Whopper and they all hover over 300 calories. If I push my self on an elliptical bike I can burn 300 calories in 20 minutes so here is my plan: I'm going to "pay" for all those burgers I've eaten since the start of this year by burning them off on the elliptical bike. I have no problems with eating a burger every once in a while, but considering how many extra ones I have eaten in the last several months, I have decided not to have one again until I get rid of the ones I've already eaten. I've got a little chart with 48 boxes and I just checked off the first one. My incentive is to get these done quickly so I can get back to eating a hamburger every once in a while. I figure If I work out 3 or 4 times a week like I already plan for, I should be able to get back to my Jr. Whoppers in just under 4 months. Just in time for my birthday!

Sugary Conversation

Last night Abigail I were talking about how she put too much salt on her broccoli so I told her the word to describe foods that had a lot of salt was salty. I then asked her what she would call foods that had lots of sugar in them and she said sugary. Eventually I started telling her about how there are lots of different kinds of sugars and told her the names of a bunch of them: glucose, sucrose, dextrose, maltrose, lactose, fructose. She giggled after each one. The next morning I asked Abby if she remembered any of the sugars I told her about and she said "sucrose, dextrose...um...blink toes and black toast!" Close enough!

Kid Stories

Two stories from Abigail.

1) Abigail and I were dancing to some fast 80's music before bedtime and when we were done I told her we needed to unwind by laying down on the carpet and listen to some slow music. We ended up listening to Michael Jackson's Human Nature. In the song Michael Jackson repeatedly sings the word "why...why" so Abby asked me, "Dad, why does the lady keep asking why?" I said, "Actually, Abby, it's a guy, a man, who is singing." Abby said, "No, that's a girl." So I suggested we go watch the song on youtube. We went back to the computer and as soon as the video popped up, Abigail said, "He looks like a girl too!" ...From the mouth of babes.

2) I was putting Abigail to sleep and we were talking about the scriptures and we got onto the subject of the Holy Ghost and baptism and Abigail said, "I don't want to be baptized because mom said ghosts aren't real." I found out later Emily was telling Abigail that the ghosts she saw in a Scooby-Doo book weren't real. Well, I asked Abigail if she wanted to pray about it and she said okay and this was her prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, Is the Holy Ghost real? ...Yes? Okay. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

If only all problems were solved so easily.

Update

Here is a strange picture of Abigail and her friend Liam watching biscuits cook. Good clean fun and a good facial expression to boot!

We bought some pink curlers for Abigail's hair. It looks so cute! I need to take a picture of it when they get pulled out in the morning.

We had a really fun Valentines. The flowers that Benjamin gave me have been a beautiful thing all week long. Abby has enjoyed them a lot. She enjoyed feeding them and watching them grow. Benjamin gave both his girls a cup, candy and card. It was fun.
Here are some quotes from Abigail.

Abigail left the dinner table and Benjamin told here to come back to finish her rice and she replied,"No, Daddy. I am SO not even hungry."

Benjamin took her to the bathroom and Abby told him to go away. He closed the door and heard her say, "I have got to figure out a way that I can be alone."

Last Sunday I played a solo during sacrament meeting. I was pretty nervous, but I calmed down when I heard Abigail start singing along, quite loudly, to my music. At dinnertime I told Benjamin how hearing Abigail had helped me. He said he had been trying to get Abigail to be quiet. So he said to Abigail, "Did you hear that Abigail? You know how I was telling you to be quiet while Mommy was playing? I guess it helped her. It just goes to show..." And Abigail replied with a serious look on her face, "Yep Dad. It just goes to show."

She is a lot of fun. She brings us much joy and laughter.

Emily's 25 Random Facts

1. When I was little I used to say I didn't like any fruits and only one vegatable, potatoes. I now eat most fruits and vegetables. Except I don't like any kinds of melons, cucumbers or grapefruit.
2. I love plain yogurt, but don't like milk.
3. I was in a Jazz Band, 2 choral choirs and Bell Choir in high school.
4. At one point I had a job as a piano accompianst for a singing teacher...one of my favorite jobs EVER!
5. I was a nursing assistant during college, the job was hard but I love the people I worked with. I got a minor in gerontology, because I love old people.
6. My husband was the first boy I kissed.
7. I ran cross country, 800m, 1600m and hurdles when I was 12-16 years old.
8. At age 15 I had surgery on both my knees. No fun.
9. I love walking and when the weather is warm I take my little girl on daily stroller rides.
10. I played the piano at a convention for the guy that wrote the Color Code books.
11. I totally love being a mom, but I am constantly surprised at how challenging and humbling it is.
12. I have been an Enrichment counselor, enrichment babysitting cordinator, enrichment leader, enrichment board member and enrichment teacher. Yeah, I don't know why. I am always the one who says, "Okay, how can we simplify this activity."
13. I love swimming but I am not good at it.
14. I really love bread... I love eating it and making it, but especially eating it. If you offer me any kind of dessert or candy I will turn it down to a homeade roll any day.
15. I like Birkenstock sandals.
16. I like drawing and painting with watercolors. But I really get nervous whenever I am doing a project. I am afraid I am going to mess it up.
17. My favorite book is Jane Erye. I really enjoy reading.
18. I love to organize and de-junk.
19. I am a good thrift store shopping. But generallly I don't like shopping of anykind.
20. My favorite foods- enchiladas, pizza, hummus, my mom's pumpkin pie and enchiladas.
21. When I was pregnant with Abigail, I went through 3 bottles of Sambal Indonesian Red Pepper Sauce.
22. My family did a lot of camping when I was growing up. While some families would go to Disneyland for a trip. We would go to Tooele to do some shooting.
23. I have survived a roasted chestnut exploding in my face.
24. As a young adolescent I would regularly eat an entire batch of chocolate no-bake cookies. My friend and I would double the batch and just get it bowl-fulls at a time.
25. When I get tired my eyes blink independently of each other.