Inspiration

I realized that I have not thought about my sister Sarah this week, yet Tuesday was the 3rd year anniversary of her death. I haven't had time to feel sad, mainly because I have been feeling sad over our car situation, and the money that we're going to have to spend on them to pass emissions. I do miss her though. I wish that she had met Adam before she died, and that she was there to give me advice when I was totally engorged with a pair of beach balls and a hungry newborn, and I needed some help. It would be nice to hear her leave messages about Mrs. Swan's Chinese salads and used tampons, without laughing! She had some talent there, among others. There are so many things that I would like to tell her and talk to her about, but I have a weird feeling that she already knows. And maybe the cool ideas that I come up with and I want to share with her, she already knows about. I think that no matter what we do in this life, the Ultimate Judge is Christ. I can't say, well, she never went to church, or she didn't get sealed in the temple, and I can think of a ton of other "judgments" that would keep us from returning to Heavenly Father, BUT only Christ knows for sure what each's judgment will be. That's kind of relieving when I think about it, because I don't have to worry about things that are out of my control, which I tend to do often. I know we're given commandments to help us live this life in a less complicated way, and through this obedience we can gain a love for Heavenly Father and Jesus, because we grow spiritually closer to them and an understanding of the plan with the help of the Holy Ghost. And sometimes we mess up, and sometimes we no longer have time on this earth to fix what we've done, maybe to even consider "fixing" anything. But I just can't believe that my sister missed her chance. I have to have faith in the atonement for her, and to not pass judgment on her or any part of her life. It just makes me feel even more love from the Savior, and the love that he has for everyone. I don't think that that gives me reason to not be obedient, but it makes me feel at peace to know that we're not alone. I hope that whoever reads this does not freak out on my perceptions, because maybe my understanding differs from yours, but it doesn't mean that someone has to be right or wrong, not in this. We don't have to make that call.

The Cat Who Babysat

I am watching my sister Rachel's little girl today. Erick gets along with her, most of the time. They get cabin fever I'm sure, but my pregnant belly keeps making me lazy, plus it's cold outside. Sarah can talk really well. In fact, her favorite thing to do is to narrate everything she's doing, or everything your doing, and point out objects in the room and tell you to whom they belong, even if it's yours and it has been in your possession before she was ever born. She knows all her colors, letters, and shapes. She even knows phrases that you don't think she could know, being only 2. Erick on the other hand is like a little caveman. He speaks with some sign language that I taught him-- the basics you know: eat, more, please. He also has noises associated with these signs that I understand, but the most important part of his communication is the inflection. For example, "water". "Wa'-wa-wa" means, "I need water", whether he is thinking about drinking it or his cup is just empty. "Wa-wa'-wa" means, "Could you give me some water?" And "Wa-wa-wa'" means, "Where is my water?" I have no problem knowing exactly what is going on with his water from another room, while laughing at another person who is trying to figure out what wa-wa-wa means in general, and then what to do about it. Somethings he says pretty clearly, like "bye-bye, thank you, and no", but other things he signs better than he says. Like "please", it comes out as a bbbbbbb, when your blowing air out of your mouth and letting your lips flop up and down. But I know why he does that also, because he used to only eat one thing- boo boo. He would make the sign for please and say "boo boo" by making the bbbbbb noise. Now bbbbb has become his word for please. Isn't that weird?

My mom and I decided to go hang at the library, she wanting to get a book for the book club, and I just like the library. Erick loves it too. He runs around and is really loud. He gets up at a computer at the media station and looks like he knows what he's doing, but he uses his left hand to operate the mouse, and so he isn't doing anything to the computer in front of him, ha ha. My little pleasures. Anyway, Mom and I took turns hunting for books, and when it was my turn, I was rummaging through the biographies and I heard what sounded like a marathon runner. It was quiet at first, gradually getting louder, and I also heard a few giggles from a librarian that I saw in an aisle. I went to look for him, and I couldn't find him. The acoustics in the library are pretty good, because when I thought he was coming one way, he was really going the other. After he finished his literary excitement, we went back to the children section to get some audio books for him... and me. The librarian there directed me to some DVDs. One of the DVDs was about potty training.
Now, I'm not getting any false hope about him getting out of diapers or anything, I just thought it would be a funny and entertaining movie...for him. As it turns out, it was very good at describing the process of potty usage and even came with "The Potty Song", which does get stuck in one's head. So I thought, if Erick could get so excited for Joshua, the little boy in the story, and clap for him when he triumphed in his potty, I would get Erick his own potty. I brought it home, and suggested very nonchalantly about what a great potty it was and that maybe he should sit on it, but he didn't want to. So a little later, we played the DVD and I sat him on the potty, but I think it was cold or something, cause he didn't like it. So we finished the DVD and cheered for Joshua, and that was that. BUT, later on, we watched the DVD when Daddy was home, and he sat on his potty when Joshua did! It was SO cute. And he even clapped for Joshua all on his own without me prompting him to clap. Oh, the milestones!! It was wonderful. Then, when Nana got home, he acted like the potty was a bottomless pit that he would never sit upon. That's okay though, because tomorrow is a new day... a new potty.


If you give an Erick a cookie...