No More 'R Word' Please!

A giant thank you to my bloggy friend Lana for letting me know about this movement that has been started by the Special Olympics....

To be completely honest, I use the word on occasion. I stop myself always, but it's often at the tip of my tongue. Not to be used to mock or be unkind - of course - but just using it in jest, usually referring to myself. But it is not a kind word. To even think of someone using that word in reference to Chloe literally makes my heart ache. Please don't use it. Help spread the word to end the word!!!

I Love Daffodils

DAFFODIL: Regard, rebirth, new beginnings, unrequited love, you're the only one, chivalry, eternal life.



I've always loved the daffodil. It is the first flower of spring. A sign that the storms are almost over and the sun is just around the bend. A symbol of hope, renewal, and eternal life.

While dating, I mentioned to Oby that I loved daffodils. He has never forgotten that simple statement, and often manages to delight me with daffodils when the occassion presents itself. What a sweetheart! Just the other day, he brought in some hand-picked daffodils. *sigh* I've got a good guy!

A daffodil bouquet was part of my Valentine's Day present last year



These daffodils surrounded us while Oby proposed

He proposed at and we were married in this temple, another symbol of eternity

What is your favorite flower and why?

Crunches

Tonight while I was doing crunches, I decided I needed help. Chloe volunteered.

Time Out to Create

A few of my bloggy friends have noticed that I've taken a little time out, and to answer your questions - yes, everything is okay. I'm not having a meltdown. Our health is fine. I'm just enjoying the spring weather (except for yesterday's snow, humph!), spending more time on Chloe's development, spending more time in the scriptures, working hard to lose weight, and working on a few creative projects. My blogs have both taken a backseat while I work on other things right now.

I saw this video and I think it is inspiring and touches on what I've been spending my time doing lately. I hope you enjoy it....

Flashback Friday: Senior Year

I saw this survey about high school senior year on my bloggy friend Heatherlyn's blog. I thought it was fun to add with a Flashback Friday. Anyone who wants to can play along! Or if you want to do a flashback unrelated to high school, heck, feel free!!!



1. Did you date someone from your school? I don't think I ever went on a real date in high school. I went to dances and did a few group dates, and had lots of boy friends, but never a boyfriend.

2. Did you marry someone from your high school? No.

3. Did you car pool to school? Yes, with my friend Mitch Hill.






4. What kind of car did you have? A Pontiac Sunbird. A gift from my parents.

5. What kind of car do you have now? A Ford F150. Love it.

6. It's Friday night...where are you now? Friday nights we are worn out from a long week (Oby especially) so we usually don't do much of anything besides eat (usually take out) and watch a video. There are rare exceptions, but you'll usually find Oby, Chloe and I on the couch. And I love it!

7. It is Friday night...where were you then? Wherever all my friends were! We did spend a lot of time at my house because I had a big basement with a pool table, was the only child at home at the time, and my parents were pretty laid back.

8. What kind of job did you have in high school? I did data entry for a place called SPS Payment Systems. I really liked my job.

9. What kind of job do you do now? Mommy in training.

10. Were you a party animal? No.

11. Were you considered a flirt? I don't think so. Any flirting I attempted would have been awkward and most likely misunderstood.

12. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? I was in choir and Madres (a performance choir). I absolutely loved Madres, it was one of the biggest aspects of my senior year.






13. Were you a nerd? No doubt about it!

14. Did you get suspended or expelled? No, but I almost didn't graduate because of attendance issues. I was an honor & AP student with good grades, but I didn't like to show up to class. Literally the day before graduation I was in the principal's office with two of my teachers begging him (or her? I don't remember) to let me graduate. They did.






15. Can you sing the fight song? 'To the Clearfield, to the green and white, to the best school in the land....' Hmmm.... guess I just reiterated the answer to number 13 pretty clearly!

16. Who was/were your favorite teacher(s)? That's a toss up between my AP English teacher, Mrs. VanDyke, and my choir teacher, Mr. Davis. I really did love them both. They both believed in me and I felt they truly cared about me. They taught me, but it was more than that - they influenced me for the better.

17. Where did you sit during lunch? I went out to lunch with friends most of the time. Usually to Taco Maker, which is still one of my favorite places to go!

18. What was your school's full name? Clearfield High School.





19. When did you graduate? 1996

20. What was your school mascot? Falcon





21. If you could go back and do it again, would you? Heck no! I was too much of a mess. I was so ridiculously insecure and it made me act emotional and awkward and uncomfortable all of the time. I'm grateful for the memories and friends, of course, but I'm more grateful for the self-esteem and happiness that came the years that followed.

23. Do you still talk to the person you went to Prom with? No.


24. Are you planning on going to your next reunion? Not planning on it, but you never know.

25. Do you still talk to people from school? I went to high school with the person I consider my best friend, but ironically we weren't very good friends in high school. And if you consider Facebook and blogging talking to your friends, then I still talk to a lot of them! And despite any predictions I would have made in high school, I actually live in my home town now, so I go to church with people from high school too. It's fun to see how people turned out.

26. School Colors? green and white

27. What celebrities came from your high school? Football hero Andre Dyson was just a year or two older than me. He played for University of Utah and now plays for the New York Jets. He's kind of a 'big deal'.

Now for some pix of Oby his senior year. He was (and is) such a cutie!....

Only Oby would wear a bright red pimp suit to his senior prom. Only Oby.

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It's Madness, I Tell Ya!

Today I had plans. I was going to get up early. Get things done. Check off my to do list. Instead I've been sitting around working on my March Madness bracket and blogging. Oby always teases me that I sit around eating bon-bons all day, and usually he is wrong - dead wrong. But today, he would not be far off. The sitting around part, that is. I am watching my carbs, afterall. Except for yesterday and that Mountain Dew. Oh, and the Charleston Chews. Losing weight is madness!

Oby and I both have very competitive natures, so when March Madness rolls around, we get our brackets out and enjoy seeing who gets the most right. I was defeated last year, so I'm pretty sure I'm going to be victorious this year. Let the college basketball games begin!

Speaking of madness, yesterday the latest addition to the Bennett family came into the world. I eagerly went to the hospital to meet the little guy. I didn't forget Chloe. I didn't forget the gift. But I forgot.... the camera! (gasp!) Madness, right? Thank goodness for a camera phone.

Welcome to the world William Philip Norseth!

"Will"


PJ and Papa were bursting with pride!

Henry and Chloe were devastated that they weren't the center of attention, but at least they had each other.

And then there were FIVE!

Congratulations, Pete and Taylor, and good luck with the madness and joy your new addition will bring!

Totally Worth It

If you haven't noticed, I've been putting blogging on the backburner, among other things. I've been spending more time than ever on Chloe's exercises, stretches, learning, therapy, etc, etc. Today at her Occupational Therapy visit, I saw how much she has improved. Chloe made Mama proud.

I was told when we first learned about Chloe's condition, that there would often be plateaus in her development. We've definitely been through some of those plateaus, and then there are the days when she meets her milestones. I read once on the blog of another special needs mom, that their milestones are more like 'inchstones.' I like that. There are moments, like today, when she achieves tiny triumphs, noteworthy of grand celebrations. It makes all our hard work totally worth it.



She played a game of recognition on a touch screen. This required cognitive skills and fine motor skills that she has never displayed before.



She unclenched her fists, followed images, pointed, recognized. I was shocked and proud and thrilled.

After she would do something good, she would always look at me and her OT for approval and recognition. And boy, oh boy, did we give it to her!!!

She also had fun playing with shaving cream on the mirror.

Then we got to enjoy the wonderful weather by playing on the swing for a bit.

She laughed, kicked, giggled, screamed, and thoroughly enjoyed herself.

She worked so hard today, and had definitely earned a break on the swing.

I never tire of seeing her face of elation. She just oozes true joy.

Lucky by Choice

Tagged

Auntie Em tagged me, and I thought it was a fun (and easy) tag so I'm playing along. I picked the 6th picture from my 6th folder and I'm going to tell you about it (TMI about it, per my usual style)....

4th of July weekend 2005, on a hike up by my friend Steve's cabin in Kamas Canyon. Isn't it lovely? These are my friends Chad, Liz, Steve, and one of Steve's co-workers who I don't remember his name.


This isn't part of the tag, but I had to add more pictures to properly tell the story. This is Steve, Liz, Chad and myself. This weekend was so funny to me for many reasons. We stayed up late talking around the fire and all talked about how we would always be single, and how we would always be friends. Well, it was only six short months later that I met Oby. I was the first of my group of friends to get married and I have to say, I started a trend. They started dropping out of the singles scene like crazy. I guess since I wasn't around anymore, it wasn't worth being single? LOL. I dunno. But anyway, Liz got married last year. Steve is engaged. Chad's wedding announcement is hanging on my fridge, he's getting married in a few weeks!

And since I brought up Liz, I have to tell you more about her. She and I weren't the type of friends who saw each other a lot, but whenever we got together, it was complete mayhem and laughter! I love this girl to death. This particular weekend at the cabin, we had both been reading the same CS Lewis book and stayed up all night talking about it. Yes, it is a religious book, but somehow when she and I talk about anything, laughter is involved. Oh my, do I love that girl!!!

Back to the 4th of July weekend in question. After the cabin, the group headed to the Real Soccer game. Not a big fan of soccer, but it was a fun game, and there were fireworks of course. Ugh, and I just remembered this. Steve's toddler nephew was at the cabin one of the days. Turns out he had the stomach flu. I also got it and the symptoms became apparent at the end of this soccer game. As we walked to the car, my friends held my hair back as I puked. LOL. Oh the memories. Good times!

I tag anyone who wants to play along.

Aaaah, Family....

Today at church, Elder Richard G. Scott spoke (he is one of the main leaders in our church). He talked a lot about the importance of spending quality time with your family. It was a very inspiring meeting. It got me thinking about how grateful I am to have so many wonderful family members so close to us, so we're able to be with them often. Just this weekend.....

Grandma Judy turned 70 on Saturday, so we went to lunch to celebrate!

Chloe snuggled with my dad.

My nephew Jake and his friends showed us his gecko.

Yep, a lizard. His name is Tiger.

My cousin Chris and his little family were in town and stopped by to say hi.

My mom went crazy for Zoe.