THANKS YOU MR. HANKS

Thanks to Marilee who brought this to my attention.  

APOLOGY ACCEPTED!

Tom Hanks says he's sorry he told FOXNews.com that Mormons who supported California's constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage were "un-American."

READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE HERE

And now my apology to you Tom.  I'm sorry I insinuated that you were as dumb as Forrest Gump.  We can be friends again and even though I still don't LOVE that you spoke hastily you are forgiven by this mormon girl!

THE INJURY (or eenjury, as we like to say)

TJ is injured.  Injured bad!

  What happened you ask?

2 words for ya...

CHURCH BASKETBALL (gasp!)

I won't bore you with TJ's personal history of playing church basketball, but it does involve stitches, what I now think was a broken ankle but he refused to ever have it x-rayed and an injury that, lets just say we're lucky we have Reece.

So now, the last and final injury of TJ's church basketball career is....drumroll please...

A RUPTURED PLANTAR FASCIA LIGAMENT

(SEE PICTURE BELOW)

OUCH!

So the deal is this.  It happened last Tuesday night, we saw the Podiatrist on Wed and he gave TJ a boot to wear for 6 weeks.  For the first 3 weeks he needs to be on crutches.  We now have the first week down with 2 to go.

 

In 4 weeks TJ will visit Dr. Rogers again and determine whether or not he will need surgery.  This particular injury doesn't typically respond well to reconstructive surgery so they're waiting the 4 weeks to see if TJ's body works its magic and starts to repair it on its own.  If not the surgery has something to do with saline to increase blood supply on the bottom of his foot which I guess promotes healing????  Who knows.  I'm no Doctor!  I am, however, banking on TJ's body to do the repair!

We have a guy in our ward who is a Physical Therapist and he has told us that this injury is an extremely difficult injury to rehabilitate.  He told us that TJ has a very long road ahead of him and from all descriptions (swollen, bruised, sore to touch) TJ has given him about the state of his foot he says that TJ really did a number on his foot.

We feel very blessed however that it is his left foot.  If it was his right he wouldn't be able to drive and probably would've had to go on Medical Leave and since TJ has a goal this year of being ranked in the top third, that would've been bad!  Not a good way to start out 2009.

As for me I'm hangin in there.  I feel bad for him but its like having another 18 month around!  (ok, not that bad, but pretty close! )  Its also hard because he's such a HUGE help around the house.  I am taking good care of him though and with him out of commission I am much more appreciative of how much he actually does help me with everything.  I will never complain about him feeling the need to vacuum or sweep right after I did it ever again!  He's a good hubby and I love him!  Poor guy!

So I'll give you all the update in 3 weeks after he sees the doctor!

THE WORLD NEED LESS...

BIG mouthed celebrities who pop their mouths off about things they know NOTHING about.  Nor do they care to read and research enough to learn the facts.

For example, the latest comments by TOM HANKS on the Mormon's involvement in Prop 8.

HE SAYS Mormons are UN-AMERICAN for supporting Prop 8.

I SAY we are very AMERICAN for sticking up for what we believe in and preserving our RIGHT to teach our children what marriage really is.  FREE SPEECH anyone?

HE SAYS, "the truth is a lot of Mormons gave a lot of money to the church to make Prop 8 happen."

I SAY a lot of Mormons gave a lot of money DIRECTLY to the Prop 8 campaign.  While we were encouraged to support the Prop 8 effort, the last time I checked we weren't writing checks to the church, handing them in with our tithing slips labelled "for the prop 8 effort."  I don't live in California so maybe I'm mis-informed but that is my understanding.  Besides that, there were some Mormons who were against Prop 8, namely Steve Young's wife.  I also say that other religions were also involved.  Namely, CATHOLICS!

HE SAYS, "the truth is this takes place in Utah,"

I SAY the truth is this took place in CALIFORNIA.  The truth is the last time I checked Mormon's didn't make up OVER 50% of the population of California.  There WERE others who agreed with the Mormons.

HE SAYS Mormon's discriminate.

I SAY Mormon's are now and have always been discriminated against.  Case in point...the rallies outside the Los Angeles Temple.  All the Anti-Mormon websites on the internet.  The extermination order of all Mormons in Missouri that wasn't revoked until the 1970's.  And even, YES even, the fact that Mr. Hanks is executive producer of a little HBO show called BIG LOVE and the fact that Mr. Hanks is ignorant of the Mormon Church's ACTUAL involvement in the Prop 8 campaign.

TOM HANKS obviously has no idea what he's talking about.  I guess GOOD ACTOR/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER does not equal SMART PERSON.  It seems we didn't realize how prophetic Forrest Gump was when he said, "I KNOW I'M NOT A SMART MAN."

Reecey's Words

Since I'm so horrible at keeping Baby's books (used to be good at it, now I'm not) here is a list of Reecey's words at 18 months (almost)  The first column is how she says a word, the second column is the translation.

Mommy--Mommy

Dada--Daddy

Nanny--Natalie

Nana--Banana/Nana (depending on if Nana is around)

Papa--Papa (TJ's dad)

YouYou--LouLou (TJ's mom)

TJa--TJ

No (once)--Yes

No No No--No

down--put me/get me down

down--pick me up

belon--balloon

ball--ball

dammies--jammies

punny--funny (that's new today!)

anum anum--a treat

eeoo--ear (this is a common one lately since she has an ear infection)

ReeRee--Reecey

beedee--Brady

beebee--Baby

da--Jack

nigh nigh--night night

beeyou--blanket

meel--milk

hah--help

hi--hi

ba bye--bye bye

I think that's it...at least all that I can think of right now!

Tis the Season

Anyone who knows me well know that I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!!  I always always have and I think I always will.  I'm not one of those people who stress over the baking and the gift buying and the wrapping and the crowds.  I actually thrive on all of the chaos and love it all!  This year was no different!

Because I'm so very smart I prepared our Pre-Christmas fun before I went to Hawaii so it would all be ready for me when I returned.  The house was decorated, some gifts were purchased and the Gingerbread House kit was bought and ready!

Unfortunately TJ wasn't home but the kids and I had a BLAST decorating the Gingerbread house and having a dance party to Christmas music!  Seeing that I have some OCD tendencies, I was very proud of myself for relinquishing all control of the Gingerbread house and letting my kids GO FOR IT without any bossing and demanding from me.  It was actually very liberating and the House turned out just the way a Gingerbread House decorated by a 9, 7, and 4 year old should!

So I kind of lied a bit...I actually insisted that I do the roofline icing.  This pictures was pre house decorating and as you can see the trees were beautifully done.  Unfortunately I never did get a picture of the finished product.  Weird, I know.

I love this kid!  Even though he's not looking up I still think you can totally see the excitement on his cute little face.

Jack dancing with Reecey.

Reecey snackin'

We were lucky enough to be able to stay home for Christmas this year for THE FIRST TIME EVER!!!!  In the past we've either traveled for the entire break or we've had Christmas Day at home and then jetted off somewhere but his year we called in re-enforcements in the form of the Brinkerhoff family and stayed home the whole time!  It was wonderful!  In fact, just yesterday Jackson told me that he LOVED staying home for Christmas and can't wait until next year when we stay home again!

A lovely Christmas Eve dinner at Tucanos in SLC!  YUM!

LouLou and Lindsay!  Hot mama's!

Teej and LouLou (his madre)

Me and my Reecey!

After dinner we headed over to Temple Square for a quick peek at the lights.  It was a very quick peek since by the time we got there, found parking and walked over to the temple grounds it was about time to go pick up TJ's sister Ali from the airport!  We were able to see the nativity presentation though and that is the most important part!

The Salt Lake Temple!  BEAUTIFUL!!!

Walking to Temple Square

Reece was not a happy girl!!!  She was a little fussy and clingy with me since the last time she saw her Papa he took her back to Denver with him.  By the end of their visit though she was quite content to sit with him!

The Nativity Scene

After Temple Square we headed back to our house to open the traditional Christmas Eve Jammies!   Then we watched Grinch, read the Christmas Story from the Book of Mormon this year since we had just heard the Bible version at the Temple and then told our traditional story of Teach the Children!  After that the kids went to bed and enjoyed the sugar plum visions!  (btw...what are sugar plums?)

Christmas morning arrived and we had a lovely time with presents, scotch stew, undercooked cinnamon buns and Dr. Pepper!

Then came Christmas Dinner!  I'm not a big fan of Ham dinners so we went for the Turkey dinner instead.  That would make 3, yes 3 Turkey dinners prepared by me since Canadian Thanksgiving in October!  Good Times!

If you look closely at this picture it really is kind of silly!  Cute, but silly!

The kids table!

Even though this is totally overexposed I think its hilarious!  This was Reecey's uniform.  Onesie, socks, new shoes and new hat.  She paraded around like this for a long time!

Natalie and LouLou passed out after a long day!

Last year Utah got a lot of snow.  Even though I didn't live here I came in February to house hunt and there was tons of snow.  In all my years living in Utah I had never seen that much snow in the valley before.  This year we are again, getting a ton of snow.  These icicles were hanging from my roof!

Then came Natalie's birthday.  We celebrated by having Tacos for dinner, a yummy cake and presents!

While she was waiting for everyone to come into the family room to open presents she was standing there like this.  She looked so mad.  It was funny!

There's the happiness!

Then came the day of Sledding.  We have a total kick butt hill by our house so we went out and had a blast!!!!

After a fun filled day of sledding, a game of Monopoly that we never did get a chance to finish, even though me and Teej were kicking butt, and the news that Coach Mike Shannahan of the Denver Broncos got FIRED, we headed out to a celebratory dinner at Red Robin!

And that my friends pretty much wraps up Christmas 2008!  Like I said before I love Christmas time and this year really felt the spirit of Christmas!  I'm so grateful for the birth of our Savior and the chance we have each year to spend it with our loved ones.  

Now on to 2009, where many fun and exciting things will happen and lots of not so fun and exciting things will happen so remember to stay tuned!

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANNY DEAR!

"A Baby is God's opinion that the world should go on."

-Carl Sandburg

Natalie Rae Brinkerhoff was born on December 28th, 2001 and turned 7 years old this past Sunday!  Happy Birthday Nanny.  Here's my tribute to you!

"Babies are such a nice way to start people"

-Don Herrald

"A Daughter fills a place in your heart that you never knew was empty."

-Author Unknown

"Special things come in small packages."

-Author Unknown

"While we try to teach our children about life, our children teach us what life is all about."

-Margaret Atwood

"I yike you yips."

-Natalie Brinkerhoff to Snow White at Disneyland

"Giggles, curls, ribbons and bows.  She is adorable from her head to her toes!"

-Author Unknown

"Little Girls dance their way into your heart, whirling on the tips of angel wings, scattering gold dust and kisses in our paths"

-Author Unknown

"Divas are not made, they are born."

-Fiona Apple

"Angels exist, only sometimes they haven't got wings and we call them our daughters."

-Author Unknown

"Hold tenderly that which you cherish."

-Bob Alberti

"You cannot catch a child's spirit by running after it.  You must stand still and for love it will soon itself return."

-Arthur Miller

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful, beautiful, daughter.  She brightens my days, she warms my heart and she makes me laugh.

As is my new tradition, here are 10 things I LOVE about Natalie!

1.  Natalie is a good friend.  She is so considerate of her friends and is always making them pictures, bringing them snacks and trying to make them happy.

2.  Natalie is THE BEST snuggler in the house.  She can snuggle up next to you and mold herself right in.  She fits perfectly to anyone she snuggles.

3.  Her giggle is infectious.  It seriously is music to my ears

4.  She is smart smart smart.  I don't mean to brag but she's in 1st grade and reads at a 3rd grade level!  

5.  She is a WONDERFUL big sister.  She loves Brady and Reece and can play with them for hours on end.

6.  She is my right hand gal.  Anything I need, she'll help me with.  From getting diapers for Reecey, to setting the table to helping me with dinner.  She loves to be my little helper.

7.  She's a girly girl but has no trouble playing with the boys.  Natalie loves makeup, fashion, dancing, princesses, Hannah Montana and High School Musical but she also has no trouble light saber fighting, playing in the mud, playing with legos and dressing up as Darth Vader!  Its a great balance!

8.  Natalie has a very good, tender heart.  Not only is she a good friend but she's a good daughter, a good sister and a good girl.  She is sensitive to others and tries very hard to keep the Golden Rule.

9.  Her toothless grin lights up a room and warms my heart.

10.  She's just plain fun.  She's fun to talk to, to play with, to shop with, to go out to eat with and to just hang out with!  I hope and pray that her desire to hang out with me doesn't go away!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY GIRL!!!!  I LOVE YOU!!!!!