Big Kids

Dylan had a well baby check and shots today, and Keilana had her preschool physical about two weeks ago.  As usual, they both handled their shots like pros.  Keilana just sat there and watched the nurse prick her finger for the iron check and then said, "Cool!" when the blood went into the little vial.  Then she watched calmly, if a bit more annoyed, when she stuck the needle into her little forearm for the TB test before asking, "Do I get a treat now?"

Dylan went with me today (no big sister along) for his shots.  He was very cooperative with Dr. Resa, but refused to give the doctor a smile when he was tickled while having his belly examined.  Finally, when Dr. Resa started squeezing his thighs and making jokes at him, Dylan gave in a broke a (small) smile.  Can't let anyone else think that they're in control, after all.  As soon as the doctor left the room, he demanded that I help him put his clothes back on (despite the easier access to his belly button, he just couldn't stand the indignity of being nude, apparently).  The nurse came back in to give him his DTap and Hep A shots.  He laid down on the table like he was asked and I grabbed his hands and leaned over just in case (he's freaky strong).  She gave him the first shot and he stayed still but just went "RRRrrrrr!" with a red face.  The nurse said, "Did something bite you?" and he nodded.  Then she asked, "What was it?" He shrugged and she said, "Was it an ant?"  To which he very bitterly replied, "Yeah."  Then she gave him the second shot and he got red-faced again and shouted, "Hey!"  

But all the was left was to put the second Band-Aid on, and by then he didn't care anymore and tried to ride the 5ft kangaroo outside the door while I paid for the appointment.  He eventually decided that the 5 1/2 foot giraffe was better built for riding.

Anyway, he weighs 34 pounds and measures 34.5 inches, which puts him in about the 12th percentile for height and the 87th for weight.  He is dense!  Not surprising, since he's very strong and not nearly as pudgy as you'd expect from a kid with those kinds of numbers.  Keilana currently measures 42.5 inches and 42 pounds, putting her in the 95th percentile for weight and the 90th for height.  Combine this with the fact that everyone else in her class in Mexican (I'm not kidding, she is the only white child in the classroom), and therefore on average somewhat short, and she looks like an Amazon!

Belly wk 26 and more fountains

So this morning I get a rather rude and impatient message, "When are you posting new belly pics?!" 

"It's only been 2 weeks since I posted the last one," says I. 

"2 weeks is a long time!" says she.

"Well, I'm wearing the same outfit today," says I, "I guess it would be good for comparison."

And since what I should be doing is getting my house in order before all these people come over this evening, what better time to waste time taking, downloading and resizing pictures I don't need?  Hard to tell in the picture, but she's sitting quite low.  While this is nice for my lungs (I can still breathe pretty easily and don't get kicked in my ribs much), it is rather uncomfortable for the rest of me.  I feel quite squished!  At least she's not as busy as Keilana was.  Oy.  That would hurt.  So, baby belly at 26 weeks.  14 weeks til her due date, 15 1/2 til her likely birthday.  The kids and I are getting towards the end of our time at Sweet Briar Fountains, so I took a few more pics to close out the summer.  Its still hot (supposed to be over 100 today), but those days will be ending soon.  Last splash.

Stylin' Dylan

Ok, so if you only know Dylan through my blogs and pictures and have not had the pleasure of interacting with the little ball of strangeness that is our son, I have to explain something:  at the young age of 2 1/2, he already carries himself in a way that casually announces, "Yeah, I'm just cool like that."  His walk is more of a strut.  His confidence and independence are somewhat uncanny (obviously, he got a lot of Doug's genes).  He is. . . .an alternative thinker.  I'm afraid its already quite obvious that he's destined for lifelong weirdness.  But I thought I would share a bit of normal 2 year oldness with all of you--he was very proud of this Davy Crockett hat (hand stitched by Daddy) and Iron Man Burger King toy glasses combo.  I think he looks pretty awesome myself.  That's my little man.

Moments of Peace

The last few months have been messy.  Several people in our life are at a sort of crossroads, unsure of where to go next, or afraid to take a step forward.  It has been difficult to watch people we love remain "stuck", unsure of what we can do to help.  Combine this with several hiccups at McDermont, my fatigue (and occasional days of nausea and headaches still), working nearly every evening and Saturday, pregnancy hormones (curse them!), getting behind in our callings, etc, and you have a recipe for an increased need for peace.

Peace can be elusive, but only if we are seeking it in the wrong places or the wrong manner (which as mortals we are quite prone to doing).  It has often struck me how often in the New Testament the Savior instructs us to be at peace or to "be of good cheer".  This seems like a pretty reasonable request from the Prince of Peace, but the reason it has always stood out to me is that His own earthly tenure was filled with more difficulties and sorrows than we can imagine.  Yet we know that He asks nothing of us that H0e has not done or been, so I must conclude that despite His earthly sorrows and trials, He was at peace and cheerful as He walked this fallen world.  If we look to Him and truly strive to be obedient and humble, peace is easy to find.

Sometimes peace is hardest to come by because our faith is weak.  I think sometimes we confuse hope and faith.  They are intertwined with one another to some degree, but they aren't quite the same thing.  I think sometimes, particularly when we are struggling, we say we have faith that the Lord will provide, that He will direct, that He will bless us, when what we really mean is that we have hope in those things.  Hope is standing in the light--we may not be able to see very far, but we can see where we're standing and the danger in that is that sometimes we can get a bit too comfortable with that limited vision and so we get stuck.  As Elder Bednar so succinctly put it, faith is taking that first step into the dark and trusting that the light will follow.  That can certainly be scary and difficult.  But we have to take that step forward if we want to ever get anywhere, if we ever want to make any progress.  As C.S. Lewis said, "What saves a man is to take a step.  Then another step."

Sometimes I hate taking that step.  Sometimes I have to convince myself to do it because I hate putting my foot forward in the dark not being able to see where it will land.  Doug and I have talked a lot in recent weeks about Nephi's declaration that "I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do."  It wasn't that there wasn't a plan, its that Nephi didn't know what the plan was--the Lord only revealed the plan to him one step at a time, and Nephi just kept having to exercise the faith to take that step.  Most of them were more like leaps--he exercised faith and was in return asked to do difficult things.  But he did it because he trusted the Lord.  Do I have that kind of faith?  Do I exercise that kind of meekness?  Do I possess the courage and strength to do what I should, regardless of the hurdles I must leap to do so?  I certainly don't think so, but it is what I want to develop.

Even when I don't want to, I can usually (even though there's often a lot of hesitation and hemming and hawing first) get myself to take that first step because the Lord has more than delivered on every promise He's made me so far.  I was thinking last Monday how blessed I have been.  From a very young age, one of my strongest and most earnest desires was to have a home where Priesthood authority presided and was actively exercised--to have a husband who could hold my babies in that circle of Priesthood and give them a name, who could bless them when they were sick, who could baptize and confirm them.  I wanted a husband who would take me to the temple.  I wanted a father for my children who would be an active participant in their lives, who would play with them and cuddle them.  As I looked up after Doug finished blessing Keilana, I was overcome with gratitude for the blessings in my life and I was reminded of the Book of Mormon, which tells us many times that the Lord blessed the people for the righteous desires of their hearts.

I have not always been a very valiant servant.  I have not always been the daughter that I ought to be.  I have made and continue to make a lot of mistakes.  I have had many desires in my life that have most certainly not been righteous.  But my husband has blessed both of my babies shortly after their birth.  He married me in the temple and has gone there with my often the last 5 years.  He is attentive and playful and affection with our children.  Keilana has twice been healed by the Lord through the laying on of his hands, and received her first Father's Blessing to start school.  For the small amount of obedience and faith I have managed to exercise, the Lord has blessed me with an undeserved abundance.  I can only imagine what blessings he could pour out if I could more often set aside my pride or stubbornness be as happy as he made me to be.

Contact Moment

Last night we had another training for McDermont.  I guess maybe it would be more accurate to call it a regrouping.  It was sort of a mid-race pick me up.   Louie Gravance is back in town.  He's a consultant who has been on board for much of the project.  He's worked for the Walt Disney company for years and now has his own very successful consulting and public speaking firm.  Having know him myself for about a year now, and having seen and heard through Doug what he's done, I know he's worth every single penny.

Louie is an interesting man to me.  He's very intelligent, talented and dynamic.  Though he could live quite well off his private business, he still works at Walt Disney world, being all these silly characters and putting on all kinds of goofy shows.  He does it because he has found true joy in life in serving others.  Oh sure, not exactly in the traditional sense that we tend to think of "service" in the Church, but that is what he does.  He finds joy in making other people happy, in helping to create moments of joy for them that they'll remember their whole lives.

Still, putting on a show everyday, no matter how noble your intentions, is hard for anybody.  There are days when you're hot and/or tired and/or have a thousand other things on your mind and/or just plain don't want to be at work today.  So what Louie does is he remembers what he calls "contact moments" to remind him why he's there and what he's willing to be.  Those moments when he lit up a little kid's face, or connected with a grateful parent, and so on and so forth.  Last night, he asked each of us to identify at least one contact moment at McDermont to rely on to remind us what we're willing to be.

Its been a rough couple of months.  Because this is such a huge project and because there are so many other big projects going on at the same time, things keep getting pushed back.  Originally, our Grand Opening was scheduled for June 21.  It was a big weekend, with lots of press and VIP events, etc., but it was no grand opening.  The third building (the bulk of the facility) was nowhere near complete.  The Flowrider opened very, very successfully on August 1st only to be shut down by OSHA 3 hours in because we failed to apply for a permit we didn't know we needed.  We wanted everything to be done for Labor Day, then for Halloween.  We're now hoping it will all be complete by Christmas.   Everyone's ready and anxious to put on a show, but we still seldom have an audience because of all the delays.  Everyone is getting impatient, exasperated at times with all the understandable questions from fans.  No one knows all the frustration and tension better than Doug, Brad, Clint, Scot and Louie.  But they know that the staff feels it, too.  That's why right now those contact moments are so important.  They hold us over and get us there--the first downs we can reach before we're ready for a touchdown.

I've had lots of them.  Many of them have come when I've been giving tours (being so new and all, a lot of times people will come in and just ask if we can show them around).  Somewhere along the line while I'm showing them the building and telling them our story, I'll see that moment where it clicks for them.  This look comes across a person's face when they first begin to grasp the depth and scope of what we're doing, of what it must've taken to get to this point, of what it's still taking, and of what it could mean for Lindsay, the county and the Central Valley.  I love seeing that instant when it starts to come together for someone, and my own wonderment--sometimes lost in the long hours, stressful days, delayed deadlines, frustrating days with coworkers--is renewed again.

But my most important "contact moments" have come when I haven't been at work.  Its when we're driving down the road and Keilana hears an add on the radio and squeals with delight, "They're talking about our McDermont!" or sees an add on television and exclaims, "That's my daddy's Flowrider!"  Its when I walk out the front door and Dylan tries to bolt across the street to McDermont.  He knows and loves it and is always anxious to be there again.  Its watching basketball games from the catwalk in the Red Circle building and remembering carrying my newborn son around that catwalk before it was finished, painted and filled with seats, before the sport court flooring and basketball hoops were there.

When Dylan was born, Doug was showing Mom, who had flown down from Montana, his Sketch Up models of the Red and Green Circle buildings.  A year later, when she flew down for his first birthday, Doug took her around the catwalk, where they were still leveling out the north end of the concrete floor, getting the Lazement painted (it still didn't have any walls or props) and walked her through building B, which was still empty except for a mostly finished front counter.  Now, a year and a half later, we've come so far so fast: we're now running a men's basketball league; have had numerous successful tournaments for basketball, volleyball, and dodgeball; we're running a popular laser tag arena; a great, state-of-the-art arcade; multiple birthday parties and private events every week; have had several concerts (with more on the schedule).  The Flowrider will be open for Labor Day weekend, and the skate park shortly thereafter.

A good chunk of our life revolves around McDermont, and that can be exhausting and frustrating at times.  But I relish the thought that my oldest children's memories will be filled with McDermont.  I take pride in knowing that I will either raise my children here or bring them back when they are older, where they can see the growth and flourishing of this little experiment--dreamed up and risked for by this little group of believers who could see more than most would ever dare imagine.  I look forward to reminding them that Daddy was, in many ways, a huge part of making all of this a reality.  I was there.  We helped build it up.  We've poured endless hours of effort and time and often blood, sweat and tears into this project because we trust that the rewards--not only to us, but to everyone who visits--will be well worth all of it.

Knowing that I will be able to tell my children this story first hand, to help them learn about idealism and risk, about hard work and dedication, about possibilities and opportunities, keeps me grounded.  Outside of Lindsay, so many people in our life don't yet appreciate what is happening here, but I know that someday they will and I'm grateful that my children will be able to smile and say, "My family was a part of this."  

Reveling in her cuteness

I got to looking at old pictures of Keilana today, and had to share one (I wanted to share about 50, but fortunately for all of you I haven't the time today to be resizing photos all afternoon).  I took this when she was about 13 or 14 months old.  How can you not love something that cute?My young women first found out that I was pregnant while we were at Girl's Camp, and one of them said, "Oh, I'm so excited.  You have the cutest babies."  Another one of them thought for a moment and then added, "You do have really cute babies."  I laughed and said, "Thank you, I do good work."  Now, I maybe just a teensy bit biased, but I do think I have awfully adorable babies and toddlers.  I mean, look at this kid--do you need more evidence than that? :)

Doug gave her a Father's Blessing last night after Family Home Evening to prepare her for starting school, and one of the things that it said was that she would continue to be a good companion and friend for Mommy and help Daddy, help us remember how to be good.  Those phrases really stuck out to me because she's been my little girl, but she's also been my little buddy.  And one of the most precious things about my children to me (and, admittedly, Keilana more than Dylan in some ways) is that they constantly remind me not just what is good, but how to be good.  On the occasion that I lose my patience and get loud, Keilana will say to me, not defiantly, but simply as a reminder of what the rules of the house are, "Mommy, stop yelling at me."  Nothing stops me in my tracks quite so quickly as that gentle reminder from my daughter.  If Doug and I start to argue--or, as is more often the case, get loud because we're excited about something and she thinks we're upset--she'll say, "Stop it!" until we've assured her we're not actually angry or fighting and lower our voices.  

For all her drama and hissy fits, the fact remains that her basic nature is that of a generous and charitable spirit.  She is a natural sharer (despite relatively recent trends with her brother) and is eager to please those she loves and just about anyone else.  She lives by positive reinforcement.  One time she came into the bedroom and asked, "Daddy, how I look?" and when he very goofily said, "Oh, just terrible," she took him seriously, hung her head and walked away crying.  But she recovered quickly and with a great big smile when he scooped her up and explained that he was teasing.  She is easily hurt, but never doubts you for a moment when you say you're sorry and tell her you love her.  

As I looked at pictures of her as a baby and toddler, it finally occurred to me that I'm very excited to be having another little girl!  With my first two, I had definite preferences and got them, but this time, I really didn't care.  Boy or girl--I've got a mostly complete wardrobe for either one, so whatever.  Even when we got the news, I was glad, but no big deal.  But now, looking through pictures and sorting through all the cute little pink and purple clothes, the girly shoes, the frilly dresses, I'm so glad its another girl in this oversized tummy!

School Pic

Yesterday our camera batteries were dead and we forgot to get a shot of Keilana before her first day of school.  So here's a picture of her second day of school.  Not quite the same thing, but you get the basic idea.  She was a little more apprehensive today when we got to school, but was still happy to be there and was good when it was time for me to go.  This morning, Dylan was interrupting her trip up the stairs when I hear her say, "Dylan! Don't! I gotta brush my teeth, I'm gonna be late for school!"  It was cute.  She's getting awfully big--even if its hard to tell since her shirt's too big for her.  But it is a size 7/8, after all.