Campaigning...

For reasons I will share with you all later in what promises to be a great post...

I would love for you to vote on the poll on this here blog. The deadline is next week, where I will reveal why it's there. You may now take the time to go ahead and sit on the edge of your seat.

Thinking it's about time to post Halloween pictures...

I know, I know, it's almost Christmas...Dude, don't judge.

Little Red Riding Hood!

Detailed photo:
and a cheesetastic one:

Unfortunately, there are no pictures of Jimmy dressed up as Teen Wolf and me as Granny. That's only because my idea never came to fruition on account of tempermental husband and shrieking to 'leave now!' daughter. Maybe we'll have matching costumes next year.

"Maybe" as in:
kid: "Mom can I have Timmy over for dinner tonight?"
mom: looks in the fridge to find three eggs and a wilted bag of lettuce "Maybe..."

p.s.- I HATE blogger right now... it's not letting me load my huge smatter of pictures.

A little bit of gratitude... just in time for Thanksgiving

After being on crutches for so long, it has been really frustrating. I do have to admit that I have been pleasantly surprised with the specturm of people out there. Sometimes (yesterday), I will be going into a store and the person directly in front of me will neglect to hold the door open and it will slam in my face. Then I struggle to reach the handle while still holding the crutches in the crook of my arm... interesting picture, I'm sure. But then, almost immediately following a person's total disregard an onlooker will give the manner-less a dirty look and run to hold open the door.

It's pretty funny to see different people's reaction to the crutches. Some people ignore, others stare (mostly kids), even a few observers have a look of pity. Today, I had a truly touching experience. Kaitlin and I went to WalMart to buy some holiday supplies. Kaitlin pushed the cart down the aisles, zig zagging her way through crowds and bumping into more than a few fellow customers. After my patience and budget had run out (both very thin) I stood in line just thinking about the difficulty in which I would have trying to get everything up on the conveyor belt. Literally, just as I was thinking that thought, the woman in front of me just started unloading my cart for me. The gratitude in my heart was bigger than it's capacity, I'm sure! What touched me so, was that the sweet woman did me a favor unbidden, with a smile and so selflessly. I thanked her profusely.

Being on crutches has been a pain at times, but being able to experience small acts of kindness has been a true gift.

I believe in signs...

especially when there are four succesive signs working in conjunction with one another.
Four signs from the universe of why I should not have purchased an oreo cookie shake at the drive thru when getting Kaitlin* lunch:

1.) The cosmic way in which the attendant forgot to make the oreo shake and held up the entire lunch traffic behind me while I waited
2.) The kismet of a broken straw realized after leaving the window
3.) The karma of spilling a shake while trying to drink without a straw (all over a brand new just-took-off-the-tag-today shirt from Nordstrom)
4.) The serendipity of poking a hole in the bottom of the cup because of a hidden earring in the cup holder


*don't judge I got the apples and milk instead of fries and soda.... I, however, got a milk shake.

b.o.r.e.d.

I was so bored today that I actually did a google image search of myself (give it a try- it's fun!) And guess which picture was the ONLY picture I could find of myself on google?!?!

THIS ONE!:

I think I need to just start randomly posting fabulous pictures of myself with plenty of captions with my name. Good news... another image popped up, that of a smokin' hot Wentworth Miller. I really wouldn't mind coming back as him in another life.
Here's what I look like in real life:

Stephanie Graham Stephanie Graham Stephanie Graham Stephanie Graham Stephanie Graham Stephanie Graham Stephanie Graham Stephanie Graham Stephanie Graham Stephanie Graham Stephanie Graham Stephanie Graham Stephanie Graham Stephanie Graham Stephanie Graham... you get the picture...

"Buckle Up!"...

would have been the perfect advice to me as I approached this new job of teaching seminary to high school students. It has been a bumpy ride. There are days when I feel like I am really getting somewhere (well as far as you can get at 5:50 am). And then there are days when I feel like I am crawling out of a crater where my lesson just bombed. I swear, when I drive away fom the church sometimes I can see a mushroom cloud in the rear view mirror.

Yesterday was a day from the basement... today was nearly opposite. Teaching teenagers is such a roller coaster of a ride! If just one kid is in a bad enough mood, it upsets the very fragile atmosphere. The whole spirit of the lesson can be chucked out the window at a single comment. Sometimes I think that I am too young to be teaching and other days I feel ancient. With all feeling involved in this calling, I have felt the FULL spectrum.

Every day you talk to me about seminary, those kids are different. You'd think that I was teaching several classes on a rotation! Inspiration, frustration, humility, pride, energy, exhaustion... all feelings of a seminary teacher. I do have to say that I have been truly blessed to be where I am, doing what I am doing and learning from these kids. They live in an ever changing world. Hopefully, I can still hold on tight and be happy when the ride's over.

p.s. We learned about John Tanner today- anyone heard of him? He is an inspiring man from church history that truly was the spirit of generosity and sacrifice.

here's an article about him too: The John Tanner Family

To my husband: my sincerest apologies

Last night, as I was brushing my teeth I heard a loud shriek. Hmmm... I wonder, when did I adopt a teenage girl? As I came out of the bathroom I made the realization that it was not, in fact, a young woman, but my burly husband that let out that screech. Apparently, there was a mouse hidden under a layer of aluminum foil inside a bin in the office. The bin that Jimmy was getting ready to load for the following morning (a seminary breakfast... we'll get into that later... but I digress).
The poor boy was seconds away from fulfilling the cliche of standing on a chair. I walked into the office with Jimmy cowering behind me. Well, maybe not so much cowering, as shoving me in front of him to protect the honor of my significant other. I have to admit, I heard a little rustling of the foil when I got closer. Instead of shrieking, I excitedly say, "Let's catch it! Grab the lid, we'll put it outside." Now, the bin was clear, so I knew I could put on the lid and shake the mouse around a little bit to get a good look. Can you tell I grew up with brothers? (Haahaaa... and Jimmy with sisters...)
After some finagling, I finally got Jimmy to agree and he stood back as I plopped the lid onto the bin. We carried the bin outside and carefully removed the lid to rid the bin of it's contents. I started with the things on top- a bag of paper plates, some stray napkins and a bon appetit magazine among other things (don't ask me how the magazine got in there because I have no clue). As I peeled back the layers in the plastic bin, I was getting to the bottom of the bin and the rodent's hiding spot. While I am working so bravely to protect our sleeping daughter from a rabid animal bite, Jimmy is huddled inside watching from the doorway. When I almost reach the bottom, my man gets courageous. He comes out and plops the lid back on to give the mouse a good shake. I look at the boy perplexed and he just shrugs, "I thought I could make it dizzy."
Haahaaa, "Why? so it could jump all crazy crooked on me?!"
Jimmy retreated to his job of holding up the door frame. Because I didn't want Jimmy to take credit for shaking the mouse out of the aluminum foil, I peered into to the bin and gave it a good shake myself. To the tune of my husband's raised eyebrows, I reached down into the bin to grab the foil in one swift movement. I then waited for the backlash of an angry, dizzy mouse to attack. But what do you know? Underneath the foil was... nothing.
Haahaa! It turns out that the foil was only rubbing up against the edge of the bin when we walked near it, making a little rustling noise. Jimmy exhaled in relief and said, "You're not going to tell anyone about this, right?"

HP 7

Buying my tickets for the midnight showing today. Any other takers?! I think I may have to cancel seminary the morning after... or just never go to sleep.
In other news, I am getting too old to pull an all nighter.

Riveting Story

I want to throw my crutches out the window.

The End

*cricket....cricket*

we had the missionaries as guests for dinner tonight. It was painful. I cracked jokes. Jimmy told mission stories. No response. I think they were nervous. I swear, it was the longest hour of my life.


on the up side, I finally perfected a caramelized apple tart.

Does anyone else...

• only turn up the radio in even increments
• have their dvds arranged by color so they look good from far away
• dry off from the shower exactly the same way every time
• want all the bad guys to die on tv, because that would be the easiest way to write them off a show
• have an extraordinary talent for boggle
• have to finish a book even if it is absolutely terrible
• rip their bra off as soon as they get home... unless company is expected
• eat weird food combinations (meatloaf + applesauce)
• have an unnatural obsession for wedding shows
• remember life's moments as: cartoons/musicals/ movie moments
• have a real problem reading soft cover books
• etc

???

I hope I'm not the only crazy one out there.

The touch of the Master's hand

Last night, as I was preparing my seminary lesson, I had the prompting to show a video. The video is on Netflix instant streaming, so I watched the video to time it and see what I remembered. I still got the feeling I should show this video, even though it was a little 80's cheeseball. After I had picked up Ashley this morning, we went straight to the library to get the video. Reaching up for the video, I came to the realization that the particular clip I was looking for was not on this video. Hmmmm.... So, Ashley and I continued to search for the video. We looked high and low. I wondered out loud why I would get a prompting for a video I could not find. So, instead of giving up, I just chose another clip to show. Ashley and I grabbed the nearest tv cart, until I decided against it. I would rather use the nice tv, so we moved all the carts in front of it to get to the flat screen. On the flat screen cart was a video. Can you guess what was on that tape?! Ashley scanned down the list of clips and said, "Here it is! It's number 7!" We pushed the tv cart to the classroom and I prepared to cue up the clip. I turned on the tv and vcr and what do you suppose? The clip was already cued up to the point at which I needed to start it. It is small moments like these that make me realize there are no coincidences and that there is a loving God that is keenly aware of us individually. How grateful I am that I was able to share this special moment with my sister Ashley, what a testimony builder!

Quick Fix

Jimmy and I watched an episode of Bones last night...
that show is what we call "diet tv"- there is no way to eat (without yakking) while watching. Forget exercise. I am all over sitting on the couch for another episode!

Poignant

Many years ago someone said this and it changed me.

"Those that are the hardest to love are those who need it the most."

Montagues & Capulets

Jimmy and I need to buy two new computers, on the account that our laptop and desktop died within two days of eachother. I am planning on a Macbook Pro and Jimmy is planning on an HP.

When I told my dad of the prospects, he responded,

"Oh, so you're a divided relationship?"

And my brother Kyle's response?

"So, does that mean you'll be making fun of him in a year when his computer breaks?"

Oh, the life of a star-crossed lover...

A modern day fable

After going to the doctor's office, my Mother-in-law and I went to Panda Express to grab some lunch. We each got a Panda bowl, yum. As I was eating my food, I pushed the orange chicken to the side to eat the rice first. I always do that with my food- save the best for last. I had just finished most of the rice and was ready to stab into that first piece of chicken. Just as my chopstick went into the bowl, it lost balance and tipped over... all.over.the.ground. Argh!

Moral of the story: don't save the best for last because you may never get to it OR make sure there's a fro yo shop next door to sop up your sorrow with multiple toppings.

Kaitlin: Chip

Me: Ol' Block

Translation: I like to go shopping at Ross because it is awesome.

Hangover

I'm starting to think it was a bad idea to stay up until 2:30 watching Prison Break.... then again, maybe not

Things that I didn't blog about but want to remember

• doing four events in seven days- a true record
• the Ramies' wedding and Stephanie's red, red, red hair
• celebrating Kaitlin's birthday with the family. She chose bowling and Squeeze Inn, I'm so proud
• starting seminary, gosh I'm tired... but very spiritually fulfilled. Can't forget Haley's face when the dawn of recognition appeared with the answer to a prayer or JP realized I care.
• fabulous 9th anniversary day to be celebrated when I can cruise the town without crutches.
• thoughtful friends and fabulous family
• panic attack over the auction with peace following because comfort of a good cry on God's shoulder
• lots and lots and lots of blood tests to see if having a baby is ever possible again
• Larry's
• helaman 4:13

I have so much to be grateful for, I just wanted to use this post to remind me. For the most part, it is a all jibberish to anyone but me. But, hey, that's who this blog is for. I am just glad I got some of it down before I forgot.

pity parties are not allowed at our house

even if I'm the one that chooses the color scheme and sends the invites.

1 1/2 weeks ago I fell. I got hurt. I'm still on bed rest.

You'd think after sitting with my leg elevated and driving privileges revoked, that my blog posts would be flying through the lines of the internet like a banshee on fire. But, alas, that fate was not to be. Netflix had taken me hostage. My blog finally paid the ransom required and here I am!

So to catch all 3 readers up with the circumstances, here's the story:

I went to a Time Out for Women conference with all the girls. We left early Friday morning to do some vital shopping before dinner and the first speakers that night. I was fueled to spend, dude. I had a large wad of cash just sitting on it's haunches, waiting to attack. At Nordstrom's I took a dent out of the cash and was giddy with the designer jeans and fabulous tops I had acquired. After a round of the mall, we were heading out for an early dinner. Carla and I made one last stop at H&M before leaving. At H&M, baby Blake (Carla's sweet nugget of joy) was getting a little fussy. So I went around the front of the stroller and picked him up. As I picked the baby up, the weight of our shopping bags pulled the stroller backwards. Instead of just letting it fall, I lunged forward to catch it. What's unfortunate about that situation is that my foot ad knee wanted to stay put while the rest of my body did not. So, my knee twisted and popped, causing my knee to buckle under my weight. I fell while Blake was in my arms! I know without a shadow of doubt that there were guardian angels there right at that moment. I literally remember him floating comfortably down onto my chest while I fell. He was completely unharmed. It was as if there were invisible hands that nestled him down onto me after I fell. There are no other words to describe it.

When I tried to stand up, my leg could not bear weight. So, I limped over to a lounge outside the store. As I was sitting there, I just kept praying. And I kept feeling that I really needed to go the hospital. But the internal conflicts started to rise up and fight for air. I can't ask these girls to skip dinner and take me to the ER!...maybe it's not that bad.... I have to make lunch for tomorrow...what about the girl talk tonight?... and on and on it went. I knew that I desperately needed to go to the ER. So, when Kelly and Carla came out of the store, I let them know what I needed. They took me back to the Hotel lobby to wait for Jimmy to pick me up. When he got there, I had come to terms with leaving for the night, but had fully expected to return for the following day.
After a night in the ER, I did not think it possible to return- especially because Saturday's plan involved a lot of walking. The AMAZING women left at the conference took care of lunch the following day for me. They called to see how I was.
I am seriously touched by all the help and concern I've received because of this accident. There has been an outpouring of love and service that I am truly grateful for. My family has helped so much as well. although it would have been nice to attend the whole conference, I do not regret anything that happened. I may get frustrated at times because of the stupid crutches and imbecile brace I'm required to use, but it has afforded me a much needed break from life. Recovery has been slower than I expected, but I'm okay with that... for now.