Ode to My Man!

 

Shane just recently celebrated his 33rd birthday.  He's probably cringing.. he doesn't like to remember how old he is.  One year he thought he was turing 27 when he was really turning 28! Sorry babe! But 33 is still young. This is a picture of him a couple weeks ago. His sis said she'd pay for his game if he'd wear these ugly brown socks while they were bowling... ha ha... that's my man!

Here's just a few things I love about Shane:

1) He's the best dad ever.  I knew he'd be a good dad when I saw him with my down syndrome cousin.  When we were dating, we drove out to California to my cousin's missionary farewell.  We walked in the church a little late, and I had to use the bathroom. When I came out, he was helping my little down syndrome cousin reach the water fountain and get a drink.  He didn't even know that he was my cousin.  It melted my heart.  And he has proven to be a wonderful dad to Jada.  Recently he caught an earlier flight home from a business trip, just so he could come watch her triathlon! He has picked up a new hobby (flying model airplanes) and always offers to take Jada with him when he goes to spend some time with her.  She loves being with her daddy.  And I'm so excited that pretty soon we'll be the proud parents of two adorable little girls!

2) He calls me every day.  I don't think there's been a single day where he hasn't called me from work at least once, just to say hello and that he loves me.  He knows I love to hear that!

3) He's the best at surprises, and I love it!  Once I was in Utah visiting family, and I wasn't expecting him to come out, but he surprised me by flying out for a weekend and took me to a Peter Breinholt concert. It was the best!  Once he called into a radio station to answer, "What have you done to simplify your life." His answer was, "I got married to a wonderful woman, and has made my life simpler and better in so many ways." (Awwwww)  He won front row tickets to a Mary Chapin Carpenter concert.  And lately he's been surprising me every now and then by showing up to my prenatal appointments, just to spend a little bit of time with me, hold my hand, and hear the baby's heart beat.  He really is the best.

4) He has a sense of adventure. I love to do crazy things, and he's right there with me.  When we were dating I thought that this guy was the coolest! He took me backpacking for 5 days at Capital Reef, white water rafting on the Snake River in Idaho, roller-blading in Santa Monica, Hiking in Zions National Park, and we often drove his motorcycle up Provo Canyon for hikes and picnics.  We still love to do crazy things like scuba diving, kayaking, rock climbing, and wake boarding.  But aside from the adventure sports, he is just a blast to be around and never a dull moment around here!

5) He's incredibly helpful.  I don't think there is a day that goes past where he doesn't ask, "Is there anything I can do for you or anything I can pick up for you at the store?" He also just helps when I don't ask for help.  If I'm folding laundry, he'll jump in and start folding laundry with me not only to help, but also to be near me and spend some extra time with me.  

6) He's a great dancer and loves to dance.  And I know I'm lucky!  We have a blast doing that together, and I know it's something we can do together till we're old and gray. We met dancing at a club in Pleasant Grove, and I was super impressed at how good he was... he didn't seem to be there just to pick up chicks like everyone else.  He enjoys it and is a blast to dance with! I didn't have much experience partner dancing, and he's patiently taught me how to two-step, swing, west-coast swing, cha-cha... and a lot of others. 

7) He loves music. He's not very musical, but he loves music very much, and he loves to sing in the ward choir (really!). He always changes what he listens to, but he has great taste in music (and I'm thankful he puts up with some of my 50's favorites :)

8) He's a great provider. He works very hard and I'm so happy for him that he has a job that he loves very much.  I really truly appreciate everything that he does for us, and the necessities and comforts that his hard work provides. He often brings his gadgets, wires, and things, home with him to try new things with ours house.  I try to hide the wires the best that I can :) but truly, deep down I really do love all the wires! :)

9) He loves to serve and help others.  I have such a strong testimony of service and I'm so happy that he shares that.  Once I put together a huge yard sale to help raise some money for someone who was about to lose their home.  And he was right along there to help me with everything.  He has a big heart and its one of the things I love most about him.  

10) I think the thing I love about him most, is that he inspires me and motivates me to be a better person every day.  There are a million things I love about him and it just makes me want to be the kind of person that he adores right back. 

I love you so much babe! Hope you had a wonderful 33!

Agape Carpet Cleaning

I have to give a big shout out to my carpet cleaner today. They did an amazing job for a fraction of some of the big chains like ChemDry. I originally got a quote from ChemDry, they originally quoted me $300 by e-mail. Then they came by, and saw the carpet, they said it would be more to spot treat, and to get out some of the tough stains. I decided to hold off for a while to shop around.

So I came across this local company, and they gave me an estimate by e-mail of $120. So I called him up, to ask some more questions. I told him there was a lot of dirt and stains, we had never had it professionally cleaned, and it was about 7 years old and pretty dingy. I asked if it would cost any more to treat the stains. He said, no, unless there was any red dye stains or pet stains. I was really impressed by their website, testimonials, and straight forward answers, so I decided to book it. He originally told me it would take probably about an hour and a half. So I took Jada and Cami over to the Rec Center to swim while he cleaned. Later, he called and told me it was going to be at least another hour. He just laughed and said, "Your carpet is a bit challenging, but I think you will be pleased with the results." He called when he was done, and we came home. When I saw my carpet, I was very impressed!!! As you can see, we have this awful light carpet... and it's never been replaced or professionally cleaned (and like I said, it's at least 7 years old), so it was really bad, but now it looked fantastic. I wish I had some before pictures. But anyone who's been to my house can vouge for how gross it was!

Anyway, I was expecting him to say it was going to cost more since it was difficult carpet... so when I asked him how much I owed him, he said.. $120. (And btw... this cleaned my living room, 3 bedrooms, and hallway). He said that if I had known it was going to be so difficult, he probably would have charged $200 since it took quite a bit of time... but he said, "I'll stick to my estimate." I was floored! He said, "All's I ask is you send me some referrals. I get all of my business by word of mouth." So, here's a big shout out to Agape Carpet Cleaning.

Their website is: http://www.agapecarpetcleaning.com/
(615) 392-2252
(931) 374-3316

You won't be sorry!

Jada's First Triathlon

Our community Rec Center held their first annual triathlon for 3-6 year olds.  It was probably one of the most adorable things I've ever seen. They had to ride their bikes around a loop, then run a short course, then run through the sprinklers for the "swim" portion. They even had race numbers to pin to their shirts.  It was set up pretty much like a real race, except they didn't time the kids.  It was so cute.  When I saw the advertisement, I asked Jada if she wanted to do a race, she said, "I get to do a race like mommy and daddy races?" She was so excited.  

She was the only girl in her heat, and the only one on a trike, but I was impressed, she did really well.  She had a very serious "race face" that was just adorable.  And notice her little camelback!  When I saw that at the store in her size, I couldn't resist. And of course she wanted to wear it to the race. Ha ha... Afterwards they gave all the kids medals and t-shirts and they even had a "refuel" station with kids power bars and apples and drinks.  So, I guess this year, our whole family did our first triathlon... and come to think of it... even the new baby went a long with me when I did mine. ha ha.. :)

Her friends Nathan and Cami also raced and she was sooooo happy to have them there. We went out to dinner with some friends later that evening, and she couldn't stop talking about how she and Nathan and Cami all "won" the race and got medals! :)

Check out the serious race face.

A natural runner.

So proud!

Belly Bump at 16 weeks

Here it is folks! 16 weeks along. I'm looking forward to my belly getting nice and round in the coming weeks. Right now I'm in the stage where look like I just finished off a nice steak and baked potato! But I guess the baby is just about the size of a small potato. I actually have started to feel a little bit of baby fluttering. Kinda like butterflies in the stomach. :) I'm doing pretty good, I'm finally feeling relief from the morning sickness, and I'm oh so happy about that. I'm starting to feel the awkwardness in bending and sitting... and having problems when I sneeze! ha ha... Only women who have been pregnant know what I'm talking about. ha ha So embarrassing..

Here's a picture Jada drew for me. It's a picture of me holding the baby.

Here's another picture she drew. It's a picture of our family, including the baby. She drew a circle around the baby... maybe because it's still in my belly. She loves to kiss my belly and sing songs to the baby. She's going to be such a great big sister.



Here's baby #2's first ultrasound. Can't believe I'm going to be a mother of 2... YIKES.

New Tunes

A friend of mine recently released his first music album. He's a fantastic piano soloist, and compiled a beautiful arrangement of LDS Hymns that is unlike any other arrangement you've probably ever heard. He has a unique New Age style that adds a very beautiful flare to the Hymns. His style is similar to David Lanz or John Schmidt, if you're familiar with their music. I just wanted to post a link to tell him congratulations and for my friends to check out his website. Check out the song of the day. I think you'll love it!

www.michaelethington.com

Ode to the Piano Man

Today is my dear ole Dad's birthday, so if you're reading, I just want to say Happy Birthday Dad!! I miss you! The other day my brother sent me a video clip of this guy who plays amazing jazz/blues on the piano. This guy has the same name as my brother - so he said that this is what he'd look like in 40 years if he had inherited my dad's piano talent! This will give you an idea of what my Dad plays like.



My dad is an amazing pianist and loves to play jazz. Watching the clip brought back so many memories watching my dad play his keyboard, and him teaching me the basics of jazz piano! I miss that so much. Growing up our home was filled with music. Either my dad or one of us five kids plunking away at the piano or someone singing along with the piano. These days, my home is only filled with music if the radio is on or if I have a free minute to sit down at the piano. So I really do miss that! One of these days, Dad, you need to send me some video clips or put them up on youtube so I can see you play!

My Dad lives in Hawaii, so I don't see him very often. (But I have to say, it sure is nice to have that excuse to go out there to visit him in paradise!) But we sure miss you very much. Last night Jada was looking at some family pictures and asking me who everyone was. She pointed at Grandpa, and I said, "That's my dad, and he's your Grandpa." And she said, "Yea, he likes to play with me." And I said yes he does. And then she ran away, and brought back a doll. And she said, "Grandpa gave this to me!" And I was floored! I could not believe that she remembered that. Last October he came for a visit, and she remembered that he played with her... (he really is an awesome grandpa. He'll spend hours playing blocks, and stuffed animals with her). And she remembered the doll that he gave her. So I guess he made quite an impression with her!

My dad always did fun stuff like that when we were kids too. Our tooth fairy's name was "Bob" and he'd leave the most hilarious notes and gifts in exchange for our teeth. My dad made up the funniest and craziest stories, and was always so believable. He wasn't afraid to make a big mess in order to have fun. Once we had a huge water fight and because we were in and out of the house so much, the kitchen floor was nearly flooded! He had the most interesting game of hide-and-go-seek ever. He would hide, and then tap the walls. We'd chase the sounds all around the house, but for some reason we could never find him. When he came out he told us he was hiding inside the walls and had a secret access that only dad's could go into because it was too dark and scary for kids. And he would tell the most fantastic story of what it was like walking inside the walls. And we totally thought our dad was the coolest.

One last favorite memory of my dad. I remember I was a little afraid of lightening and thunder as a kid, so one stormy day, he helped me to realize that the lightening and thunder were really cool! I was probably 3 or 4 - we had a carport, and we went outside and sat on the hood of the car and he taught me that the thunder would come a few seconds after the lightening... and we just sat and counted how long in between the lightening and thunder. I just thought it was the most fun thing in the world to sit out in the rain... and totally cured the fear too!

*Here's a picture of my dad. Peter Gabriel is his celebrity look alike! I think if he grew a goatee he'd look like his twin.

Well, we miss you very much Dad! Hopefully we can get out there soon, or get you out here for a visit. Hope you have a GREAT birthday!

Love, Jess, Jada, and Shane

More Tri Pics

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