Week of Jacob, Angie, and Andrew

This last week had a special visit from Jacob, Angie, and Andrew. Because that many people under one roof could have been more than we could handle, Brendan and Carmen spent the week at Grandma and Grandpa Shipley's in the country.

We started out our visit with some catching up on Monday evening when they arrived. And then we just dove straight into things on Tuesday with a wonderful family trip to Dollywood. Benjamin is finally big enough to ride at least one roller coaster with adults. They have a new roller coaster there called the FireChaser Express. The fact that it's firefighter themed just makes it that much more awesome for Benjamin since he can enjoy the story and the ride at the same time. Also, it's pretty cool that it can go both forwards and backwards!

The whole Dollywood trip was a blast in general. Andrew is big enough to go on some of the small rides, and we managed to break things up so that everyone was able to ride everything that they wanted to ride and no one got stuck babysitting the whole day. And because it was a Tuesday during the school year, the park was pretty empty. About half of the rides we were able to just stay on the ride for another go around... or two! I'm pretty excited for next year when we buy season passes since Benjamin should be big enough to be able to ride even more things so we don't have to split up as a family.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were considerably more laid back. We ate at a lot of fun places in the Kinsport area (i.e. Cookout, Bagel Exchange, Little Cake, Braeden's BBQ, Edo, and maybe some other places that I've forgotten about). And when we weren't eating out, we were cooking delicious food. Of course we made spicy beef, which is kind of our signature dish, but we also made some cinnamon pie to eat while we watched the "Dual Spires" episode of Psych. The episode prominently features cinnamon pie so we couldn't not.  Actually we did so much eating that I think I gained five pounds this last week. Hello gym!

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Saturday, the Washington Ewings headed out so we caught up on all of our errands and some family time. We took advantage of the last day of the outdoor aquatic center being open this year to have a great time at the pool. Unfortunately, the 80 degree whether still wasn't enough to compensate for the colder weather earlier in the week, and the water in the pool was freezing. We had to leave earlier than we would have liked so that Benjamin could stop shivering. Even though he told us, "B-b-but I'm not sh-sh-shivvvvvvering!"

Last night, I went to the second semi-annual Relief Society Broadcast with Carmen. We were able to socialize with members of both the Kingsport and Rotherwood Wards before moving into the chapel for the broadcast. Once again, it was wonderful and really lifted my spirits. I love the feeling that can come over me whenever an apostle comes to the stand. The Spirit testified to me last night in no uncertain terms that Pres. Uchtdorf is a special witness of Christ. And I loved his talk, too.

Looking forward to a wonderful week enjoying family, work, and the gospel.

Home Improvement in Orange

Well, we finally finished up with getting the guest bedroom looking nice. We haven't purchased new furniture yet or finished up with the artwork, but the barebones of the room are all done. We put up the crown molding and chair railing today and did all of the touch up paint including around the baseboards. This was absolutely the best job that Mark had done on the caulking for the crown molding and chair railing yet.

And one of the best parts yet was of course how much Benjamin always wants to help out with home improvement. He decided that today he was the "Wall Emergency Finder" with the stud finder. Whenever he wasn't helping Mark with the stud finder, he went around the house looking for wall emergencies. It was pretty awesome.

Story Time at the Kingsport Library

One of the things about living here in Kingsport with Benjamin as a toddler is the Story Times at the Kingsport Library. They always have a great theme and do such a great job of connecting with the kids. Today the theme was "Splish! Splash! I was taking a bath!" Benjamin brought his blue whale bath tub toy along with a towel. He finally seemed to be really getting into story time. He gets into singing the songs, talking with the other children, and listening to the books themselves.

Projects at Work

Coming up on my second month of employment at Eastman. Boy has it been an adventure! It really isn't at all like what I thought it would be. Fortunately, it's a mixture of both positive and negative ways that it's different. Really the only negative is that I'm spending a little less time with Benjamin than I thought I would. But I'm gradually starting to get some more work done from home so that's transitioning into what I would really like it to be.

But the positives are pretty awesome. Turns out that this has been way more intellectually challenging than I thought it would be. And I love the challenge! I love how much I get to learn and explore. I've gotten experience with Tableau, SQL, SSIS, and Excel. And I've taken the opportunity to also start learning some Python and PHP on my own on Codecademy.

I also really like the environment and people I work with as compared to being a teacher. Before I felt like I spent at least 80% of my energy convincing students that what I was doing was worth their time. But now I don't really have to do any of that and people actually really appreciate what I do!

I'm happy to be working at Eastman and also happy that I'm just working part-time and still getting to be a mom.

Eastman Road Race 3K Run

This year Mark and I ran the 3K together for Eastman Road Race. I was pretty excited that for the first time I managed to run the entire way without stopping while still being able to kick up the pace at the end and have a pretty substantial kick at the end as well. The plan is to be rockin' awesome next year when we get to new age group.

The rest of the day was pretty great. After the road race, we headed over to Bagel Exchange before picking Benjamin up from Mariah's. Benjamin is always begging to see Kristi so any excuse to get them together is a good thing.

After picking Benjamin up (and getting in some much needed showers), we headed out to Target and took advantage of some pretty nice sales on toiletries. It's sad that I find that exciting. But I do. Anyway, after Target we went next door to Michael's just to see if they had a volcano kit to make this whole thing easier with Benjamin's volcano unit for school time. What we ended up finding was a 6 piece science experiment kit from the Smithsonian. Benjamin is super excited to construct it as soon as possible.

We also managed to pick up 20 new expansion packs for Marvel Dice Masters including our first super rare! I love that Benjamin enjoys playing that game so much with Mark. Even though he basically never wins, he has a ton of fun playing.

For our evening entertainment, we had fun playing some Divinity as a couple. Making some serious headway in that game and also really enjoying having another co-op game to enjoy together.

Eastman Road Race Youth Runs

Finally got the Yaris back today! Sadly, it looks like there may be something wrong with my windshield wiper fluid container, but we'll see over long term how that works out. Mostly I'm just happy to have my car back after the accident instead of driving the rental around.  I just hope that my car is just as reliable as it was pre-accident.

Just after we picked up the car, we headed straight over to pick up our race packets for the Eastman Road Race. Yup, it's that time of year again. Benjamin was involved in the Youth Runs tonight so we walked over to the fields just in time for the races to get started. Happily this year the event color is green (Benjamin's favorite color) so we should be seeing a lot of this shirt in the future. Even though he initially really didn't want to do it, he was super excited by the time the races got started. He ran his hardest and without an adult the whole time. I was so proud of him and the improvement he's had since the last race. And he's pretty proud of his ribbon this year, too.

An Attitude of Gratitude

I had the wonderful experience of listening to a talk from General Conference on the way into work today that touched me even more so maybe than the first time I heard it. It was "Grateful in Any Circumstances" by Dieter F. Uchtdorf. The wonderful thing about listening to this talk again was how I was able to experience it. Just like the first time I heard it, I was confused when he said "I'm suggesting that instead of being thankful for things..." about any other way of being thankful until he finished with "...we focus on being thankful in our circumstances--whatever they may be."

Wow. So true. It indeed really is easier to be thankful for things when life seems to be going our way, but the Lord does not command us to only be thankful then. Rather to always be thankful. I love that. I try sometimes to remember to be thankful for my trials as they are frequently blessings in a form I might not have otherwise chosen, but I should also be thankful in my trials. Man I love that.

I basically just want to reword and write everything from that talk because it meant so much to me, but instead I will focus on one other thing.

Especially as of late as my faith has been tested, I have obsessed over and feared death more than ever before in my life. But this quote addresses this and deserves to be put here in it's entirety.

"In light of what we know about our eternal destiny, is it any wonder that whenever we face the bitter endings of life, they seem unacceptable to us? There seems to be something inside of us that resists endings.

"Why is this? Because we are made of the stuff of eternity. We are eternal beings, children of the Almighty God, whose name is Endless and who promises eternal blessings without number. Ends are not our destiny.

"The more we learn about the gospel of Jesus Christ, the more we realize that endings here in mortality are not endings at all. They are merely interruptions--temporary pauses that one day will seem small compared to the eternal joy awaiting the faithful.

"How grateful I am to my Heavenly Father that in His plan there are no true endings, only everlasting beginnings."

We are loved. We are eternal. When people say death is only the beginning, really death was never the beginning or end. It is merely a step along our eternal path that gives us pause.

Swim Lessons Part II

Tonight Benjamin had his second swim lesson, and he loved it! Part of the swim lesson tonight involved jumping from the side into the pool, going all the way under the water, and then being pulled up by the instructor. Benjamin had so much fun doing this that each time he was waiting for his turn he would be standing by the pool with his toes hanging over the edge. It was pretty adorable.

The other cool thing about tonight's lesson was finding out that the Bertassos have a son in the same swim class as Benjamin. Andrew Bertasso works in Pricing at Eastman so we've already met before, but it was the first time that I'd met Jessica Bertasso. They were friends of our family while they lived in New Jersey so we have a previous connection to build off of. Phone numbers were exchanged with promises of play dates so I'm pretty excited.

And on the way to swim lessons (totally telling this story in reverse order), we saw the most gorgeous double/light triple rainbow. I kept on worrying it mind end up distracting me while driving it was so beautiful. I snapped a picture once we arrived at the Y but didn't really have time to make it look awesome. But it certainly made me thankful for the beautiful things that Heavenly Father has blessed us with as well as our ability to appreciate them.

Parenting with the Right Reasons

I was reading this article on the website for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and was particularly struck by this quote:

"Children can sense--even if they can't articulate it--whether a parent is motivated by selfishness or by what the parent believes is best for the child."

We should remember to encourage and push children because it is good for them rather than out of motivation to make ourselves look good to other parents.

"We can help our children see the long view in their own lives. Possibly, the most powerful way to do this is by being the type of people we want them to become. ... If they see us trying to be Christlike, they will be more likely to try to emulate Him too."

I bare my testimony to Benjamin as close to every night as I can so that he knows that I have one and that it is important to me. Even if I don't do anything else for his Night-Night routine, I share my testimony or have someone else share a "guest" testimony. Now I need to lead the rest of my life the way that I want him to lead his own.

"We need to help our youth understand the Atonement and what it personally means to each of them. Teach them that because of the Atonement there is hope in this life and in the life to come. Somehow, we need to help our youth see how relevant this is to their everyday lives, their happiness, and their eternal salvation."

I love the Atonement. Studying it, thinking about it, seeking to apply it to my life. I hope that I am able to help Benjamin gain an even greater appreciation of this principle and event.

Even though I sometimes forget it, I do have a testimony of the Atonement and the love of the Savior for me and all of Heavenly Father's children.

Swim Lessons

Tonight Benjamin had his first ever swim lessons at the Aquatic Center. He's in the Guppy Class, which focusses on making sure that children are comfortable being in the water without freaking out. I was so proud of him. He's not amazing or ahead of the curve or anything, but he should be able to graduate to the next level at the conclusion of this class.

There were three children there tonight with one of them having serious separation anxiety issues so I felt better about the fact that Benjamin seemed very hesitant to leave me at first. But he did have a great time once everything got going. It was great to watch him from across the way.

Labor Day Weekend

This last weekend was both really eventful and not at all. Mark and I managed to paint three rooms in just over 24 hours. This is more impressive when you understand that the two bedrooms we painted were each two colors since Mark is a little obsessed with having lots of bright colors around the house. Fortunately this is an obsession which I can appreciate. I particularly love how the happy oranges in the guest bedroom add so much light. I keep on having to check to make sure that we haven't left the light on in there because with the curtains open it's a super bright room right now. I'm also really happy that we let Benjamin pick out the colors for his bedroom. No surprise. He picked out green--his favorite color. And it actually looks pretty awesome. We even decided that we would rearrange his bedroom so that we could make it more of a little boy room instead of having a nursery feel to it. It made me happy when two nights in a row he said he was thankful for his different room that he painted. We actually let him help with painting both of the bedrooms with a little brush before we went over it with the roller. Now we just have to wait until a new home improvement budget (next month) so that we can add the crown molding and chair railing. Then I think all of the rooms will look totally awesome.

Sunday was a pretty laid back day. Since we recently acquired 20 expansions for Marvel Dice Masters (Dewayne's World limited us to ten a piece), we played that game for our Sunday game fun. I can't believe how quickly Benjamin is growing up. He may not get all of the card text, but he understands the basics of the rules (even "mana" type) and loves playing that game with us. Probably more impressive is the fact that we can enjoy playing Diablo III as an entire family with everyone pulling their weight. Also another activity for yesterday.

And today we enjoyed a visit from Mom and Dad White including grilled burgers and a game of Zombicide. We lost the game of course. Our second time playing a full game, and we still haven't beat it. I'm this close to going online to look up strategy guides. But then again, it is nice to have a cooperative game actually be this challenging. I'm pretty excited about actually beating it sometime.

After the visit, the three of us enjoyed a few hours in the lazy river at the Aquatic Center. Maybe it was just because it was so late in the day on a holiday, but it really wasn't that crowded. The more independent Benjamin becomes, the more we enjoy family time at the pool. Hopefully the swim lessons that we've signed him up for this month will facilitate that even further.

With a pretty great weekend behind us, I'm excited about the prospects of a great week to come.

What This Blog is About

I decided I wanted to keep a journal but just can't bring myself to write in a physical one anymore. I love writing in cursive so much and making it look so nice that it just ends up taking an obscene amount of time. Plus autocorrect/spell check is really nice. So this blog will be my thoughts just out there in the ether. And if my past experiences with blogging are any indication, no one will ever be interested in this unless they specifically go looking for it so it will essentially be my own private journal.