Trip Home & Twin Falls Temple

Our drive back to Utah was mostly just long and uneventful.  Eliot wasn't a happy traveler, but he wasn't a terrible one, either.  We stayed in a nice place in Boise where we got to take a swim and have a yummy Baja Fresh dinner.  One of the best parts of our drive home was getting to stop at the Twin Falls, Idaho, temple.  It's a newer temple, and also a "smaller" temple, and it is so pretty.  It provided a nice place to stop for lunch and walk around.  Here are some photos of the Twin Falls temple, but first, I just had to include this one of Eliot.  We hadn't even left the house yet, and look at his face!  Can you blame him, being wedged between all that junk?!  But in fairness, a good portion of it was his, actually aimed at helping him be happy during the trip.

Such a beautiful temple.  This is the best shot I could get since it was gated off (we stopped to see it on a Sunday).

Eliot and his mommy.

Eliot and his daddy.

Home #4: Some of the Things We'll Miss

In our six-and-a-half years of marriage, we've now lived in four homes, excluding living at Grant's parents' home for the summers and Christmas break.  Our first home, an old, scary really, apartment in southwest Provo, was our home for the longest amount of time -- almost three years.  It was old and worn down and in a scary part of town (I'll never forget Grant running through the door one day and telling me to turn on the news because the SWAT team was just up the road), but to us it was wonderful.  From there we moved across ward boundaries (to the "nice" part of the ward) and lived in a beautiful, light-filled condo.  Our landlords were salt-of-the-earth people, and that home was an absolute haven.  It was the home we brought Eliot home to. Then when Eliot was only six weeks old, we packed up and moved to Oregon, where we lived in home #3, an apartment we found last minute thanks to our friends (whom we had only met once at that point) Spencer and Mary.  There were some difficult things about that apartment, but it was the home that Eliot came to know first and where he experienced many of his firsts -- rolling over, sitting up, crawling, eating solid foods.  And then there's home #4, the house we just left after completing Grant's second year of law school:

Dickinson Family Home #4, the beautiful home we got to house sit for a couple in our ward while they were on their mission to Hawaii.  Not your typical student housing situation, we know. This home provided not only a lot of living space (understatement), but also a lot of wonderful memories -- having friends and family come and stay, hosting baby showers, game nights and get-togethers with friends.  This is the home where Eliot took learned to walk and talk, where Grant successfully completed his second year of law school, where I taught piano lessons ... so many great memories made in such a beautiful place.  Here are some of the things we will miss the most about living in this home:

"Eliot's toy corner."  I've always dreamed of having a home with a window seat, and if I ever get to design even part of a home someday, a window seat will be a must.  Here's Eliot perfectly content the first time he climbed up onto the seat, not long after we moved into this home.  He's loved that area ever since.  He knew just which toys went in which drawers, and he would sift through and pull things out and play contentedly there for hours.  Watching him in "his space" is a happy memory for me.

The fantastic kitchen where we not only celebrated my 30th birthday, but also hosted baby showers, had our "down time" at the end of the day when Grant got home and we could enjoy a meal together, where I learned to make jam and bottled my first successful jars of applesauce.  We will definitely miss having the kitchen that opened into the family room.  It was so nice to be able to fix meals while Eliot played on his jungle gym and in "his" toy corner.

The views from the kitchen and family room.  These are some of the images that now come to mind when I think of Oregon and the lush green horizon.  Some of my most peaceful moments in this home were sitting in the big overstuffed chair by the family room window first thing in the morning as the sun was coming up over the beautiful trees and reading my scriptures and thinking in those quiet minutes before Eliot woke up.

The spacious jet tub ... that mostly got used to bathe Eliot.  Lucky kid!

Seeing and hearing this every night before Eliot's tubby time.  This will be the image in my mind of evenings spent in this home.  That sound of Eliot's feet scurrying across the floor is one of my favorites so far of being a mother.

The incredible views from the back of the home and this wonderful deck where we loved to barbecue and eat outside on beautiful days like this one, our last night in Salem and in the house -- a celebration dinner of steak, potatoes, grilled veggies and watermelon, in honor of Grant and another successful year.

Done and DONE.

We made it through year two!  

It feels SOOOO good to say we only have one year left of law school!

I Couldn't Be Prouder ...

Of Grant, who finishes his SECOND year of law school this week! At the risk of understating or even sounding trite and cheesy, Grant really has worked so hard. This year has been a busy one; Grant's had to juggle school, work, family, student organizations, callings at church, but he wouldn't be Grant if he didn't do it all with a smile. I know I'm biased, but I think he's pretty amazing. We are ALL looking forward to a relaxing, fun summer. Forty-hour work weeks sound like heaven about now! It will be nice to be with family and friends in Utah and to get some sunshine and down time. Whew, just one more year to go ... you can do it, love!

And P.S. for those who are wondering ... we're off to Utah for the summer. Grant will continue to work for Moody-Brown & Brown, the firm in Provo that he's been with since last May (he's been telecommuting while we've been in Oregon -- hurray for technology!). To say that he loves working there would be an understatement. His boss, the other attorneys, and staff there are phenomenal, and he's just eaten up this great opportunity he's been given. It's so reassuring to know that Grant really does want to be an attorney (law school hasn't sucked all the life out of him ... at least not yet), and that he's very comfortable in the area he's chosen. Again, I am so proud of him!

Our New Baby

Isn't she beautiful?! We'll get to meet her in August, around the time we're back in Oregon to start school again, even though she's "due" to be "delivered" sometime in the next couple weeks. We can't wait to welcome this new addition to our family.

That's "Mama" to You, Son

Grant and I are choosing our words carefully these days. Eliot's picking up on LOTS of things we say, maybe even too many things ... like my name. This weekend, since Grant was around and calling for me and talking to me, Eliot picked up on the fact that Grant (naturally) calls me Monica. So it wasn't long before Eliot started calling me "Mon-ca," and he hasn't stopped since. I've noticed he is quick to resort to "Mon-ca" if he's not getting my attention fast enough. It's hard not to giggle when my child calls me by my first name, but I have this sick sense that allowing him to do so would be a major slide backward on my already slipping role as authority figure around here (since my two-going-on-twenty-year-old son seems to think he's the real boss these days). So, really, I'm trying to keep a straight face everytime Eliot says "Mon-ca" and quickly tell him, "No, Mama."

Wit's End

Oh, doesn't Eliot look so cute, sitting so nicely in his crib? You'd never know that this sweet, innocent child has given me a run for my money this entire week, especially when it comes to nap time. Granted, I am pushing my luck by still trying to get him to take two naps on some days when the kid is clearly ready for just one nap a day. But, because I teach piano lessons a couple days a week, I have to break up his one long nap into two shorter ones to have that window after school to teach my students. Ha. It's been a joke. Which is not only affecting my ability to teach piano, it's hugely affecting my ability to get the house packed up in order to be moved out and cleaned up ... by next Saturday! Anxiety levels are high around here with Grant in the middle of finals and Mommy in "moving mode," and my non-sleeper is not helping.

And it's not just that Eliot's not sleeping in his crib. He's also attempting to climb out, he's taking his clothes off, he's getting his legs stuck between the slats ... it's a three-ring circus in there! And I know what you're thinking, "Um, Monica, obviously he's bored. Give up already and stick in a video during your piano lessons." I promise I'm not that stupid or stubborn (or maybe I am?). The kid can literally be falling asleep in his high chair or completely zonked out on the way home from running errands, I mean totally exhausted, and when I put him in his crib, nothing doing. Today I even took him the children's museum and park and let him play from 10:00 until almost 3:00 (with no morning nap beforehand), and do you think he would take even a 30-minute nap? I just don't get it! I know he's tired. I know he needs his rest. I understand that he's probably sensing our stress and is anxious himself, but wouldn't you think after several days of not napping he'd eventually just crash?!

I really don't mean to gripe, gripe, gripe this week. But seriously, I am at my wit's end with my child. I love him dearly and try to respect his wants and needs, but the mommy in me knows that my child needs rest (because boy is he one basketcase by dinnertime when he hasn't slept -- which makes two of us), and I'm going to keep insisting on this one.

Any suggestions from you much wiser and more experienced mommies?

March Madness and April Sadness

The last two months have been more eventful that we would have wished.

March was, well, as the sports enthusiasts put it so well, "madness." Our little Eliot, who, for various reasons hasn't yet received the chicken pox vaccination, was exposed to chicken pox in our church's nursery mid-March. No big deal, right? Maybe just a little inconvenience, some time at home and away from other people. None of that would have been too bad except for the fact that I had planned to fly out and spend a week with my sister and her newborn baby Madelyn. I was so bummed and put off canceling the flight as long as I could, and when I finally did, I got off the phone and cried. If you don't know this about me already, I adore newborns. I think there is nothing sweeter and more sacred than holding those tiny, fresh-from-heaven little angels. And Mary is my closest sister in age -- just 15 months younger than me, the one I shared a room with growing up, the one who knows the good, the bad, and the ugly about me (and still loves me!), and I wanted so badly to be there to help her through one of the first of her sleep-deprived, overwhelming weeks of motherhood. I was really disappointed to have to cancel my big plans of wowing her with my freezer meals skills, scrubbing her house for her, helping her get on top of laundry again, and of course, hours and hours of "sacrificing" by holding sweet Maddy so Mary could get some rest.

Well, turns out I ended up going to Utah anyway, just in April instead of March as planned. Only my primary reason this time wasn't as light-hearted as the original plan. Yes, I got to see Madelyn and Mary, which was sweet and one of the best parts of my trip. But this time my purpose for traveling was to help one of my dearest friends through the loss of her infant son, Isaac, who was born six weeks early, with a condition called Anencephaly, a fatal condition in which his brain and skull didn't form completely, allowing him to live, though miraculously, for only a little over an hour.

Please don't misunderstand me; I am not putting this out there as "my" trial, because it isn't. It's Misty's and her family's. I've just been a friend on the sidelines, helplessly watching it all happen, my heart breaking at the thought of what my dear friend has been asked to endure, on top of her life that has already known unimaginable pain. I went and supported and hugged and cried. I "met" Isaac (who is beautiful, by the way) through the gorgeous photographs Misty was able to have taken of him. Through it all I have to admit that I wasn't much help. What words of comfort could I give? I certainly couldn't empathize. I couldn't pretend to imagine how my sweet friend must be feeling, because I have no idea. I knew that as much as I tried to help and provide company and love, at the end of the day I would go home to my "normal" life and not have to live with the agonizing pain of having lost a child. That will be and is Misty's burden to bear. I don't know why this happened to such a whole-hearted, devoted, compassionate mother. I don't know how this works into God's plan and how He can allow such things to happen. What I do know for certain is that March was madness and April has just been sad and hard.

But. What I also know for sure is that, as much as I don't understand Him sometimes, there IS a God in heaven. He understands this all perfectly. He knows why Misty has to experience this ultimate sacrifice of giving up her son. Because He knows exactly how that feels. And because of His Son's sacrifice, and I know this for certain, Misty will have her baby again. Her very appropriately named son, Isaac, will continue to live, he will be made whole, and she will see him and embrace him and be granted the opportunity to mother him in the life to come. That is my comfort and my solace. It was a bittersweet experience to attend Isaac's funeral the day after Easter. From now on I will probably celebrate Easter a little differently, maybe with a little more tenderness and reverence for what that holiday really means. It will mean a little more to me from now on when I consider that I do "know that my Redeemer lives ... what comfort that sweet sentence gives."

Two Years Ago This April ...

I looked like this (7 months pregnant with Eliot) ...

... and I fell in love with Oregon the first time I saw it.

"Coranki"

... never heard that word before? I hadn't either until it was the security word I had to type in on a friend's blog after posting a comment. I think it's the perfect word to describe Eliot this week -- CO-RANKI!!!!!! (aka CRANKY!!!!). Poor thing has something going on with him, we're not sure what since even the doctor couldn't find anything, but we're pretty sure it must be those rotten two-year molars. The other night he was running a whopping fever, and we had the worst night's "sleep" we've had since he was a newborn (I know, I really shouldn't complain since Eliot's spoiled us by generally being a champion sleeper). In the meantime Eliot's getting extra doses of "loves" and Tylenol, and we're getting extra doses of whines and tantrums. My daily mantra? "It's just a phase, it's just a phase." (Right, Laura?)

Sweet & Heavenly Conference Tradition

I've always wanted to have a tradition to make general conference weekend really special. I've wanted to come up with a special breakfast or meal to enjoy that would help our family really look forward to that time together at home, listening to the words of the prophet, apostles, and church leaders. My only rule? It had to be SIMPLE. I didn't want to detract from the purpose of conference or take away the relaxing aspect of the weekend with some meal that takes elaborate preparation. The answer? Overnight sweet rolls. Last conference I tried an overnight cinnamon roll recipe from a good friend -- yummy! And this time, we did overnight pull-apart breakfast bread (commonly known as "monkey bread"), and it was SOOOOO easy and super delicious. Sure, a little indulgent, especially when paired with rich and creamy chocolate milk, but I figure a couple times a year it's okay.

The recipe for this bread, which I really couldn't get over how easy it was, comes from my good friend Brittany, the source of some of my best and, in her words, maybe not so "virtuous" recipes!

Monkey Bread:

• 18 frozen rolls (i.e. Rhodes)
• 1 box non-instant butterscotch pudding
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• cinnamon to taste

The night before you want to serve, place approximately 18 frozen rolls in a buttered Bundt pan. Sprinkle one package butterscotch (non-instant) pudding over rolls. Mix 1/2 cup better or margarine (melted) with 3/4 cup brown sugar and cinnamon (to taste). Pour sugar/butter mixture over rolls topped with pudding mix. Cover with plastic wrap and let raise at room temperature overnight. Back at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes. If they brown too fast, cover with foil the last 10 minutes. Turn out on a plate and enjoy!

Variations:

• Add 1/2 to 1 cup chopped pecans
• Top with cream cheese frosting

Spring Has Sprung

Here are the first of our Spring Break photos. What a perfect way to start. I LOVE Spring in Oregon! Everything seems to bloom, the air is always fresh and fragrant, and all of the plants and flowers are lush and dewy and fresh. It's wonderful. These shots are from the Portland Temple grounds, well except for the tulips, which I took at the "Tulip Fest" in Woodburn ... or should we say non-tulip fest. We went on the day it opened, and the only tulips in bloom were the potted ones you see in the picture. Click on the above "Tulip Fest" link to see what it will look like pretty quick here ... amazing. Can't wait to go back and check out the real deal.

And these last couple shots -- some of my favorites. I know that a lot of the happiness on Eliot's face was due to his not being cooped up in the car anymore, but I absolutely love the wonder in his face. He has always loved being outdoors and going on "nature walks" and seeing flowers, trees, birds, etc. What sweet memories caught on camera.